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PRINCETON,  N;  J. 


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BX  9225  .H37  07  1886 
First  Presbyterian  Church   ; 
(New  York,  N. Y. )  j 

Ordination  and  installation  ; 


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LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


MAR  2  3  20Uj 


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THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


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ORDINATION  AND  INSTALLATION 
SERVICES. 


First  Presbyterian  Church,  Wall  Street. 
(Erected  1810.) 


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Organized    1717. 


Ordination  and  Inftallation  Services 


OF 


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REV.    RICHARD    D.    HARLAN, 


AS    PASTOR  OF 


The  Firji  Prejhyterian   Churchy 


NEW  YORK   CITY, 


Thursday  Evening,  April  i,  1886. 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


MAR  2  3  2005 


-J 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


NEW   YORK: 

ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  AND  COMPANY, 

38  West  Twenty-Third  Street. 

1886. 


Return,  we  beseech  Thee,  O  God  of  hosts: 
look  down  from  heaven,  and  behold,  and  visit  this 
vine;  and  the  vineyard  which  Thy  right  hand  hath 
planted,  and  the  branch  that  Thou  madest  strong 
for  Thyself. 

Psalms  Ixxx.  14,  15. 


ORDER    OF    SERVICE. 


First  Presbyterian  Church 

NEW    YORK    CITY. 


Ordination  and  Installation 

OF 

REV.    RICHARD    D.    HARLAN, 

AS  PASTOR. 
Thursday  Evening,  April  i,  at  eight  o'clock. 


I.    Invocation Rev.  James  Chambers, 

A  cting  as  Jlloderator  of  Presbytery  of  New  York. 

II.    Hymn  No.  1416. 

1  Holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord  God  Almighty  ! 

Early  in  the  morning  our  song  shall  rise  to  Thee ; 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Merciful  and  Mighty  ! 
God  in  Three  Persons,  blessed  Trinity  ! 

2  Holy,  holy,  holy  !  all  the  saints  adore  Thee, 

Casting  down  their  golden  crowns  around  the  glassy  sea  ; 
Cherubim  and  seraphim  falling  down  before  Thee, 
Which  wert,  and  art,  and  evermore  shalt  be. 

3  Holy,  holy,  holy  !  though  the  darkness  hide  Thee, 

Though  the  eye  of  sinful  man  Thy  glory  may  not  see, 
Only  Thou  art  holy,  there  is  none  beside  Thee, 
Perfect  in  power,  in  love,  and  purity. 

4  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty  ! 

All  Thy  works  shall  praise  Thy  Name,  in  earth,  and  sky,  and  sea  ; 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty  ! 
God  in  Three  Persons,  blessed  Trinity  ! 

III.  Reading  of  the  Scriptures  .     .     Rev.  R.  R.  Booth,  D.D. 

IV.  Prayer Rev.  J.  M.  Worrall,  D.D. 

V.    Hymn  No.  1115. 


1  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run  ; 

His  kingdom  stretch  from  shore  to  shore, 
Till  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more. 

2  To  Him  shall  endless  prayer  be  made, 
And  praises  throng  to  crown  His  head; 
His  Name,  like  sweet  perfume,  shall  rise 
With  every  morning  sacrifice. 

3  People  and  realms  of  every  tongue 
Dwell  on  His  love  with  sweetest  song  ; 


And  infant  voices  shall  proclaim 
Their  early  blessings  on  His  Name. 

4  Blessings  abound  where'er  He  reigns  ; 
The  prisoner  leaps  to  loose  his  chains  ; 
The  weary  find  eternal  rest, 

And  all  the  sons  of  want  are  blest. 

5  Let  every  creature  rise  and  bring 
Peculiar  honors  to  our  King  ; 
Angels  descend  with  songs  again, 
And  earth  repeat  the  loud  Amen. 


VI.    Sermon Rev.  Francis  L.  Patton,  D.D. 


VII.    Ordination 


By  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. 


VIII.    Hymn  No.  831. 


I  Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken, 

Zion,  city  of  our  God  ! 
He  whose  word  cannot  be  broken, 

Formed  thee  for  His  own  abode  ; 
On  the  Rock  of  Ages  founded, 

What  can  shake  thy  sure  repose? 
With  salvation's  wall  surrounded, 

Thou  mayest  smile  at  all  thy  foes. 


2  See,  the  streams  of  living  waters. 

Springing  from  eternal  love, 
Well  supply  thy  sons  and  daughters, 

And  all  fear  of  want  remove. 
Who  can  faint  while  such  a  river 

Ever  flows  their  thirst  t'  assuage  ? 
Grace  which,  like  the  Lord,  the  Giver, 

Never  fails  from  age  to  age. 


Round  each  habitation  hovering, 

See  the  cloud  and  fire  appear. 
For  a  glory  and  a  covering. 

Showing  that  the  Lord  is  near; 
Thus  deriving  from  their  banner 

Light  by  night,  and  shade  by  day, 
Safe  they  feed  upon  the  manna 

Which  He  gives  them  when  they  pray. 


IX.    Charge  to  Pastor 


Rev.  W.  M.  Paxton,  D.D. 


X.    Charge  to  People 


Rev.  Jno.  R.  Paxton,  D.D. 


XI.    Prayer Rev.  Geo.  Alexander,  D.D. 


XII.    Hymn  No.  835. 


1  I  LOVE  Thy  kingdom,  Lord, 

The  house  of  Thine  abode, 
The  church  our  blest  Redeemer  saved 
With  His  own  precious  blood. 

2  I  love  Thy  church,  O  God ; 

Her  walls  before  Thee  stand, 
Dear  as  the  apple  of  Thine  eye. 
And  graven  on  Thy  hand. 

3  For  her  my  tears  shall  fall, 

For  her  my  prayers  ascend  ; 
To  her  my  cares  and  toils  be  given. 
Till  toils  and  cares  shall  end. 


4  Beyond  my  highest  joy 

I  prize  her  heavenly  ways. 
Her  sweet  communion,  solemn  vows, 
Her  hymns  of  love  and  praise. 

5  Jesus,  Thou  Friend  divine, 

Our  Saviour  and  our  King, 
Thy  hand  from  every  snare  and  foe 
Shall  great  deliverance  bring. 

6  Sure  as  Thy  truth  shall  last, 

To  Zion  shall  be  given 
The  brightest  glories  earth  can  yield, 
And  brighter  bliss  of  heaven. 


XIII.    Benediction By  the  Pastor. 


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ORDINATION  AND  INSTALLATION 
SERVICES. 


INVOCATION. 

By  the  Rev.  JAMES  CHAMBERS. 

/^  THOU  who  art  King  of  Kings  and  Lord 
of  Lords,  Thou  who  art  the  great  Head  of 
the  Church,  God  over  all,  blessed  for  evermore, 
we  draw  nigh  to  Thee  at  this  time,  and  we  ask 
Thee  for  Jesus'  sake,  that  Thou  wilt  manifest 
Thyself  unto  us  and  bless  us  abundantly  as  we 
have  come  together  in  Thy  House  to  worship 
Thee.  O  Lord,  we  pray  Thee  that  Thy  Spirit 
may  be  in  our  hearts,  guiding  and  directing  us 
in  all  that  we  do  and  in  all  that  we  say ;  may 
He  be  with  us  in  these  solemn  exercises ;  and 
may  we  have  a  due  appreciation  of  their  impor- 
tance ;  and  do  Thou  grant,  O  our  Father,  that  in 
all  things  we  may  acknowledge  Thee,  that  Thou 
mayest  direct  our  steps.  We  ask  it  for  Jesus' 
sake.     Amen. 

Hymn  No.  1416. 


READING  OF  THE   SCRIPTURES. 

Ephesians  iv.  1-16 ;   Hebrews  iv.  12-16. 
By  the  Rev.   R.   R.   BOOTH,   D.D. 


PRAYER. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  M.   WORRALL,   D.D. 

A  LMIGHTY  GOD,  our  Heavenly  Father, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  we  are 
permitted  to  eome,  and  now  waiting  upon 
Thee,  we  bow  to  render  Thee  thanksgiving  and 
praise,  honor  and  worship,  our  ever  blessed 
God.  O  God,  we  thank  Thee  for  the  gift  of 
Thy  Son,  who  came  into  our  world,  and  who 
suffered  and  died,  was  buried  and  rose  again 
and  ascended  on  high;  and  Whose  ascension 
was  for  the  sending  forth  of  blessings  upon  His 
people  and  His  Church.  We  thank  Thee  for 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  Whose  gracious 
and  precious  influence  the  Church  of  God  is 
enlightened,  men  are  led  into  the  knowledge  of 
the  Truth,  and  the  power  of  the  Word  of  God  is 
made  efficacious  in  gathering  all  those  that  shall 


PRAYER.  I  I 

constitute  the  Church  of  God,  and  in  the  con- 
summation of  the  redemption  of  those  that  are 
to  be  saved.  O  God,  we  thank  Thee  for  that 
special  gift  of  the  risen  Saviour,  the  Ministry  of 
His  Word,  and  for  all  those  gifts  that  go  to 
constitute  the  means  and  agencies  by  which  the 
glorious  Truth  shall  be  preached,  and  the  Word 
of  God  proclaimed,  and  the  gathering  of  the 
nations  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church  of  God 
be  accomplished.  We  thank  Thee,  our  Father, 
and  recognize  Thy  infinite  wisdom  and  grace  in 
that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  constituted  for  us  the 
Church,  established  at  the  very  beginning  for 
the  comfort  and  guidance  of  men  to  whom 
Thou  didst  make  promise  of  salvation ;  for  the 
Church,  in  all  its  history  revealing  the  divine 
providence ;  for  the  Church,  the  conservator  of 
the  Word  of  God,  and  the  teacher  of  the 
world;  for  the  Church,  by  which  Thou  art 
making  manifest  to  principalities  and  powers  in 
heavenly  places  and  to  all  created  intelligences 
the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  men  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Our  Father,  we  thank 
Thee  especially  for  the  gift  of  the  Ministry ;  for 
the  living  teachers  who  preach  the  word  of 
truth  and  tell  to  all  the  story  of  salvation;  for 
the  Ministry  endowed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  for 


1 2  PRAYER. 

so  great  a  mission,  called  by  the  divine  provi- 
dence and  grace  to  the  work,  and  set  apart  by 
the  authorities  of  Thy  house  to  do  this  work; 
and  entering  upon  it  with  special  promise  of  the 
aid  of  the  Spirit  of  Grace  in  the  building  up 
of  the  Church,  by  whose  power  they  are  to  be 
sustained  in  the  great  work  of  gathering  the 
children  of  God  and  enfolding  them  within  the 
shepherding  care  of  the  blessed  Lord.  We 
thank  Thee  for  this  provision  of  grace,  so  well 
calculated  to  train  Thy  people  in  religious  liv- 
ing, and  to  make  strong  the  Church  of  God  for 
the  great  work  to  which  it  is  called.  Here, 
to-night,  our  Father,  Thy  Church  Is  gathered, 
recognizing  the  infinite  mercy  and  love  of  God 
in  the  glorious  work  of  salvation  through  Jesus 
Christ,  and  seeking  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of 
all  grace  to  enlighten  and  instruct,  to  set  apart 
one  of  Thy  servants  for  the  special  business  of 
preaching  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  and  to  serve  as  a  shepherd  over  this  part 
of  the  flock  purchased  by  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  pray  Thee,  first  of  all,  that  our  own 
hearts  may  be  filled  with  a  deep  sense  of  the 
importance,  of  the  sublimity,  of  the  vast  reach, 
and  of  the  wonderful  Influence  of  this  glorious 
work  about  which  we  are  engaged.     O  God,  fill 


PRAYER.  13 

US  with  reverence,  with  deep  gratitude,  with 
intelHgent  understanding,  and  direct  our  every 
thought  and  act,  that  we  may  perform  the  ser- 
vice committed  to  this  Presbytery,  and  in  the 
midst  of  this  Church  of  God,  according  to  the 
divine  direction,  and  with  divine  approval.  We 
ask  that  Thy  Spirit  may  rest  upon  us  as  min- 
isters, as  a  Church  and  as  a  Presbytery;  and 
upon  him  who  is  called  to  minister  in  Thy  name 
as  a  shepherd  of  this  fold ;  and  that  all  his  ser- 
vice, under  the  guidance  of  Thy  divine  provi- 
dence and  grace,  may  be  made  influential  and 
efficacious  for  the  salvation  of  souls  and  for  the 
glory  of  God.  Direct  Thy  servant  who  shall 
preach  to  us  the  Word  at  this  time.  Give  him 
grace,  strength,  and  guidance  to  proclaim  it 
clearly,  and  with  power;  and  may  Thy  Spirit 
carry  it  to  every  heart.  Bless  each  of  those 
called  to  take  part  in  this  solemn  service ;  in 
addressing  words  of  instruction  to  minister  or 
people ;  or  in  engaging  in  any  part  of  the  ser- 
vices which  constitute  the  solemnities  of  this 
hour.  Guide  and  direct,  accept  and  bless,  and 
we  will  ascribe  all  honor  and  glory  to  God  the 
Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  our  one,  eternal, 
and  glorious  God,  evermore.     Amen. 

Hymn  No.  1115. 


SERMON. 

By  the  Rev.  FRANCIS   L.   PATTON,   D.D. 

"  And  as  ye  go,  preach."  —  Matt.  x.  7. 

T^T^E  are  here  to-night  under  very  interesting 
^  ^  circumstances.  A  beloved  brother  is  to 
be  solemnly  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry, 
and  inducted  into  the  pastoral  charge  of  an  old 
and  historic  church.  The  thoughts  naturally 
suggested  by  the  formation  of  this  relationship 
will  be  expressed  more  fittingly  by  those  who 
follow.  It  may  not,  however,  be  inappropriate 
to  the  occasion  if  we  say  a  few  words  suggested 
by  the  passage  that  has  been  chosen  for  our 
text. 

The  ministry  is  charged  with  a  great  many 
duties ;  and  it  is  with  no  desire  on  our  part  to 
disparage  any  which  may  not  be  mentioned  that 
we  propose  to  lay  special  emphasis  upon  those 
suggested  by  the  text. 

The  minister  is  a  pastor.  He  is  to  preach 
publicly,  but  he  is  to  preach  also  from  house  to 
house.     With  his  brethren  of  the  Session  he  is 


SERMON.  15 

appointed  to  the  exercise  of  spiritual  jurisdiction 
over  a  single  congregation,  and  with  his  brethren 
in  the  Presbytery  he  must  take  Episcopal  over- 
sight of  the  churches  constituting  the  Presbytery. 
It  has  become  so  common  for  the  Christian  min- 
ister to  be  regarded  as  the  most  appropriate 
custodian  of  great  public  interests,  that  very 
often  not  a  little  of  his  time  is  occupied  in  the 
performance  of  corporate  duties  that  take  hold 
of  great  philanthropic  and  religious  motives. 
But  however  important  these  and  similar  duties 
may  be,  we  lay  special  emphasis  upon  the  one 
suggested  by  the  text.  Pastor  he  must  be; 
bishop  he  must  be ;  but  above  all  things  he 
must  be  a  preacher.  We  lay  special  emphasis 
upon  preaching,  for  several  reasons. 

The  first  is  found  in  the  conception  we  have 
of  the  ministry  itself.  If  we  held  the  expe- 
diential  view  as  to  the  origin  of  the  ministry,  it 
would  not  be  necessary  to  lay  marked  emphasis 
upon  the  duties  of  the  pulpit.  Some  say  that  the 
Christian  ministry  results  from  the  operation  of  - 
the  well-known  law  of  the  division  of  labor. 
Just  as  in  other  professions  time  has  proved  it 
to  be  far  better  that  these  professions  should  be 
separate,  and  that  men  should  be  devoted  to  the 
special  charge  of  the  functions  appropriate  to 


l6  SERMON. 

each.  Time  was  when  everybody  with  ordinary 
insight  and  a  Httle  experience  supposed  that  he 
could  administer  medicine.  A  change  has  come, 
however,  the  result  of  which  is  that  the  physician 
is  introduced  into  a  profession  that  calls  for  the 
widest  and  the  severest  forms  of  intellectual  cul- 
ture. There  was  a  time  when  men  supposed 
that  everybody  ought  to  know  something  about 
the  law.  But  time  has  changed  all  that;  and 
hence,  alongside  of  schools  of  medicine  and  the 
medical  profession,  we  find  schools  of  jurispru- 
dence and  the  legal  profession.  And  so  it  may 
be  that  the  ministry  has  emerged  in  obedience 
to  the  same  law  of  the  division  of  labor,  and 
upon  the  principle  that  ahy  society,  if  it  is  to 
live  and  successfully  perform  its  functions,  must 
be  appropriately  officered.  It  would  be  easy, 
under  these  circumstances,  to  bring  forward  the 
executive  duties  of  the  Christian  minister,  and 
leave  his  preaching  function  in  the  background. 
But  we  hold  no  such  view. 

Again,  it  would  be  possible  for  us  to  enter- 
tain a  different  opinion  regarding  the  pulpit  if  we 
held  the  high-church  view  respecting  the  origin 
of  the  Christian  ministry;  for  we  know  some- 
thing about  that  view.  According  to  it  we  have, 
"  first,   apostles."      They   ordained    presbyters. 


SERMON.  17 

Apostles  were  succeeded  by  men  who  also  or- 
dained presbyters.  Out  of  deference  to  the 
original  twelve,  successors  of  the  apostles  are 
called  bishops.  A  minister  is  a  man  ordained 
by  a  bishop.  A  bishop  is  a  successor  of  the 
apostles.  The  unit  of  the  church  is  the  bishop. 
Where  there  is  a  bishop  there  is  a  church. 
Unite  all  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Baptist,  and 
Congregational  churches  in  one  denomination ; 
you  have  no  church,  but  a  sect,  for  you  have  no 
bishop.  Split  the  Episcopal  Church  into  as 
many  organizations  as  there  are  dioceses,  and 
let  each  community  crystallize  around  a  bishop, 
and  you  have  not  sects,  but  churches.  Angli- 
cans may  not  admit  this,  but  they  cannot  well 
refute  it.  It  is  the  logic  of  Anglican  separation 
from  Rome ;  it  is  the  logic  of  apostolic  succes- 
sion. Now  it  may  be  that  there  is  no  necessary 
or  logical  connection  between  apostolic  succes- 
sion and  sacerdotalism ;  but  it  is  certainly  true 
that  where  we  find  the  one  doctrine  we  are  very 
apt,  at  least,  to  find  the  other. 

If  now  we  held  the  sacerdotal  theory  of  the 
ministry,  —  if  we  held,  for  example,  that  the  min- 
ister, because  of  his  ordination,  and  because  of 
the  fact  that  tactual  relationship  between  him 
and  a  successor  of  the  apostles  is  established 

2 


1 8  SERMON. 

in  his  ordination,  exercises   some  peculiar  pre- 
rogative and  discharges  some  specific  function, 
and    in    some    official    way   holds    the    keys    of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  —  then  we  can  easily  see 
that  his  official  functions  in  this  respect  as  an 
executive,   and   especially  as  the    administrator 
of  the  sacraments  of  the  church,  might  be  so 
important  that  his   office   as    a  preacher  might 
be  relatively  disregarded.     But  we  entertain  no 
such  theory  with  respect  to  the  Christian  minis- 
try.    We  put  our  theory  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry upon    distinctly   different    grounds;    upon 
grounds  that  come  to  us  specifically  from   the 
Word  of  God.     Our  idea  of  the  ambassador  of 
Christ  is  different  from  that  entertained  by  High 
Churchmen  ;   and  accordingly  our  churches  have 
been  constructed  differently.     The  genius  of  our 
worship  proceeds  according  to  a  very  different 
conception.     The  Jew  had  his  Shekinah,  which 
he  enshrined  in  a  temple ;  and  the  worship  was 
associated   with  an  appropriate   temple  service, 
symbolic  in  all  its  details.     The  Roman  Catholic 
has  no  Shekinah,  but  he  has  what  comes  next  to 
it,  and  is  closely  copied  after  it,  --  he  has  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  Mass ;  he  has  the  visible  presence 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     Under  these  circum- 
stances, and  for  this  reason,  he  has  associated 


SERMON.  19 

with  the  church  an  elaborate  and  symbolical 
ritual.  We  have  no  Mass ;  we  have  no  Sheki- 
nah ;  we  have  no  altars.  The  pulpit  is  the  lead- 
ing feature  of  our  churches;  and  our  church 
architecture  conforms  to  the  genius  of  Protes- 
tantism. Protestantism  finds  its  central  theme 
in  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith;  and 
justification  by  faith  is  a  doctrine  that  gives 
paramount  importance  to  the  pulpit. 

Now,  I  say  that  preaching  becomes  important, 
in  our  view  of  the  case,  because  of  the  belief  we 
entertain  with  respect  to  what  the  ministry  is ; 
and  in  supporting  this  view  we  think  we  have 
the  most  literal  corroboration  of  the  Word  of 
God  itself 

This  is  the  second  reason  why  we  lay  marked 
emphasis  upon  preaching.  It  is  because  the 
Bible  gives  it  the  first  place  that  we  are  willing 
to  give  it  no  second  place.  It  was  the  specific 
command  of  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  when  He 
commissioned  the  disciples  that  they  should  go 
and  preach,  saying,  ''The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand."  Paul  said,  "  Christ  sent  me  not 
to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel."  It  was 
the  specific  glory  of  his  ministry  that  unto 
him  that  was  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints 
was  this    grace    given,    that   he   should   preach 


20  SERMON. 

among    the    Gentiles    the    unsearchable    riches 
of  Christ. 

If  further  argument  be  needed,  it  may  be  said 
that  preaching  is  given  this  primary  place  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry  by  the  very  terms  and  con- 
dition of  salvation  itself.     What  do  we  mean  by 
salvation?     We  mean  certainly  two  things;   and 
when  we  fully  understand  what  these  two  things 
mean,  we  understand  the  whole  problem  of  the 
gospel.     What   is   the    gospel,   but   simply   the 
means  whereby  the  legal  liabilities  of  the  sinner 
may  be  removed,  and  the  barriers  to  the  outflow 
of  God's  love  taken  away.     What  is  salvation, 
after  that,  but  simply  a  constant  and  progressive 
ethical  change  in  character,  by  which  a  man  be- 
comes more  and  more  a  child  of  God,  and  more 
and  more  like  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     He  be- 
comes perfected  in  holiness  and  in  the  fear  of 
God ;    adding  to  his  faith,  virtue,  and  to  virtue 
all  the  graces  that  adorn  Christian  living;   until 
at  last,  thanks  to  divine  grace,  and  thanks  to  the 
forces  that  have  been  working  in  him  and  upon 
him,  he  rises  to  the  full  measure  and  stature  of 
the  perfect  man  in  Christ  Jesus.     That  is  sal- 
vation.    But    how  does   salvation   come?     God 
might  have  made  salvation  a  matter  of  heredity; 
but  He  did  not.     He  might  have  saved  men  by 


SERMON.  21 

sacraments,  or,  indeed,  by  magic;  but  He  did 
not.  If  the  high  sacramentarian  theory  were 
true ;  if  the  minister  held  in  his  hand  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  so  that  by  sprink- 
Hng  baptismal  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  he  could  open  heaven  to 
the  child;  if  the  simple  performance  of  the 
priestly  function  of  giving  the  bread  and  wine  — 
typical  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  —  to 
penitent  believers  would  insure  their  salvation, — 
then  we  can  easily  see  that  the  minister's  duties 
might  be  simplified,  and  that  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel  would  become  a  matter  of  relatively 
minor  importance.  But  God  has  promised  us 
salvation  under  different  conditions.  He  appeals 
tq^us  as  men.  The  very  fact  that  He  has  made 
salvation  a  thing  dependent  upon  the  exercise 
of  our  faith  implies  that  we  should  be  addressed 
in  a  way  that  shall  lead  us  to  be  receptive  of  the 
truth,  and  hospitable  to  it.  So  we  read  that 
"  faith  comes  by  hearing ;  "  and  the  question  is 
asked,  *'  How  can  they  believe  on  Him  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard?  and  how  can  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?  "  Now  we  do  not  overlook 
the  mystical  element  which  enters  into  all  true 
Christian  effort.  We  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
we  believe  in  the  sovereign  power  of  the  third 


22  SERMON. 

person  of  the  blessed  and  adorable  Trinity  to 
work  regeneration ;  we  believe  in  the  concurrent 
agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  every  stage  of  sanc- 
tification.  We  are  not  looking  at  this  matter 
just  now  from  the  divine  side  of  things :  we  are 
looking  at  it  rather  from  the  human  side ;  and 
looking  at  it  from  this  side,  we  say  God  has  ad- 
dressed us  as  rational  beings.  He  asks  us  sim- 
ply to  receive  the  gospel  on  its  merits.  He  asks 
us  to  believe  it  because  it  deserves  to  be  believed. 
He  asks  us  to  hear  what  it  has  to  say,  to  see  the 
cogency  of  the  reasons  which  go  to  establish  its 
claims,  and  to  accept  it  as  the  very  truth  of  God. 
The  terms  of  salvation  are  such  that  it  would 
be  absurd  and  impossible  for  us  to  think  of 
giving  the  pulpit  any  second  place.  Paul  con- 
stantly recognized  this  rational  aspect  of  the 
gospel.  He  always  addressed  men  along  the 
line  of  the  motives  that  ordinarily  operate  upon 
them.  "  Knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,"  he 
said,  "we  persuade  men." 

Men  are  asking  whether  we  have  not  had  too 
much  preaching ;  whether,  indeed,  preaching  has 
not  had  its  day.  They  are  beginning  to  ask 
whether  the  people,  in  order  to  be  reached  at 
all,  must  not  be  reached  through  some  other 
agency  than  that  of  preaching.     I  can  well  un- 


SERMON.  23 

derstand  the  need  of  making  special  effort  to 
reach  men.  Of  course  you  cannot  preach  if 
you  do  not  have  Hsteners.  You  cannot  make 
preaching  effective  if  you  do  not  have  hearers. 
Whatever  may  be  said  with  respect  to  some  of 
the  devices  that  men  resort  to,  to  attract  and 
secure  audiences,  we  appreciate  the  motives 
that  lead  to  them.  If  the  people  will  only  come 
together,  let  us  not  criticise  too  severely  the 
means  of  bringing  them  together.  But  when 
they  come  asking  for  bread,  do  not  give  them 
a  stone.  When  they  come  expecting  a  sermon, 
do  not  give  them  a  song  or  a  concert. 

It  is  pretty  clear,  I  think,  that  the  pulpit  must 
continue  to  occupy  a  very  important  place  in 
the  church.  What,  then,  is  to  be  the  message  of 
the  pulpit?  You  put  the  minister  into  the  pul- 
pit ;  you  clothe  him  with  great  responsibilities ; 
you  invest  him  with  great  dignity ;  you  require 
of  him  hard  work;  you  exact  of  him  enor- 
mous labor  —  more  than  you  think  —  when  you 
tell  him  that  twice  fifty- two  times  in  a  year, 
whether  it  rain  or  shine,  whether  the  congrega- 
tion be  large  or  small,  he  must  preach.  What 
shall  he  preach?  "Preach  the  Word."  That 
is  one  answer.  "  Preach  Christ."  That  is  an- 
other answer.     We  are  perfectly  willing  to  be 


24  SERMON. 

guided  by  those  two  rubrics,  —  "  preach  Christ" 
and  "  preach  the  Word."  But  it  does  not  often 
occur  to  those  who  would  wish  to  draw  the  Hne 
of  restriction  respecting  pulpit  themes  that 
these  two  rules  help  to  interpret  each  other; 
for  if  we  preach  the  Word,  and  if  we  have  a 
warrant  to  go  through  all  that  Word,  and  to  dis- 
cuss the  topics  dealt  with  there,  there  may  be  a 
great  deal  of  legitimate  preaching  which  is  not 
specifically  about  Christ.  And,  therefore,  be- 
cause we  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  in- 
congruity between  the  two  statements,  and 
because  we  are  perfectly  willing  that  the  minis- 
ter's function  should  be  defined  by  each  of 
these  directions,  we  think  it  is  his  duty  to 
preach  Christ,  and  that  it  is  also  his  duty  to 
preach  the  Word. 

In  order  that  we  may  see  what  we  mean 
when  we  say  '*  preach  Christ "  and  "  preach  the 
Word,"  let  us  see  what  we  do  not  mean.  Let 
us,  in  the  first  place,  remember  that  this  in- 
junction is  not  to  be  understood  as  indicating 
any  limitation  with  respect  to  the  minister's 
theme,  though  it  undoubtedly  indicates  a  limita- 
tion respecting  his  treatment  of  the  theme.  He 
is  to  preach  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  consider  for 
a  moment  what  preaching  Jesus  Christ  means. 


SERMON.  25 

It  means  that  we  shall  do  all  we  can  to  bring 
men  into  such  relationship  with  the  gospel  that 
they  will  give  their  full  and  hearty  consent  to 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Therefore  I  take  it 
that,  among  other  things,  we  should  do  all  in 
our  power  to  remove  every  barrier  that  stands 
in  the  way  of  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
the  part  of  those  to  whom  we  preach.  A  great 
many  barriers  may  stand  in  their  way.  I  tell  a 
man  to  believe  in  Jesus;  but  he  may  be  so 
related  to  a  great  many  objects  of  thought  and 
to  a  great  many  questions  of  interest,  that,  until 
he  be  put  right  with  respect  to  these  questions 
and  interests,  it  may  be  impossible  for  him  to 
give  an  unhesitating  assent  to  divine  truth. 
Preaching  Christ  may  therefore  require  us  to 
stand  related,  in  a  very  close  and  in  a  very 
practical  way,  to  fundamental  questions  of  phil- 
osophy. It  is  quite  possible  for  a  man  to  enter- 
tain a  philosophical  belief  that  not  only  stands 
in  the  way  of  his  acceptance  of  Christ,  but  also 
makes  it  logically  certain  that  he  will  reject 
Christ.  And  if  it  is  impossible  for  him  to 
believe  in  Christ  and  hold  his  philosophy  at 
the  same  time,  he  must  be  brought  to  that  point 
where  he  will  give  up  his  philosophy.  The 
question  is  whether  the  Christian   minister  has 


26  SERMON. 

not  some  responsibility  in  this  connection.  I 
think  he  has ;  and  I  beheve,  moreover,  that, 
without  ostentation,  without  pretending  to  be 
a  speciaHst,  without  claiming  to  speak  with  the 
authority  of  one  who  has  devoted  his  whole 
Hfe  to  the  subject,  it  is  still  possible  for  him 
to  address  men  along  the  line  of  these  specu- 
lative difficulties,  this  philosophical  unrest,  these 
scepticisms  of  various  kinds,  so  as  to  pave 
the  way  for  their  acceptance  of  Christ.  Some 
are  prevented  from  accepting  Christ  by  histori- 
cal difficulties.  Christ  is  revealed  to  us  in  a 
series  of  literary  documents,  the  historical  value 
of  which  is  called  in  question  at  the  present 
time.  If,  now,  there  is  anybody  who  has  a 
right  to  deal  with  this  issue ;  anybody  who 
has  a  right  to  vindicate  the  veracity  of  the 
four  Gospels ;  anybody  whose  function  it  is 
to  dissipate  the  clouds  of  ignorance  that  over- 
spread the  sky  of  a  great  many  people's  faith ; 
anybody  whose  specific  function  it  is  to  vin- 
dicate the  historical  character  of  Christianity 
and  the  supreme  divinity  of  Christ,  —  it  is  the 
minister  who  is  specially  called  and  set  apart 
to  this  work,  and  whose  labor  and  learning  are 
supposed  to  be  devoted,  among  other  things,  to 
the  achievement  of  this  end. 


SERMON.  27 

Here,  then,  is  another  field  in  which  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  minister  may  be  called  upon 
to  labor;  and  laboring  in  this  field  he  may 
still  be  preaching  Christ.  Christ  sustains  re- 
lations, moreover,  to  a  great  dogmatic  system  of 
theology.  The  doctrines  that  enter  into  our  faith 
are  such  that  if  you  hold  one,  you  must  hold 
another ;  and  if  you  deny  some,  you  will  proba- 
bly deny  others.  It  is  so  singular,  so  strange, 
that  there  is  such  an  absolute  lack  of  conse- 
quential reasoning  on  the  part  of  men  who  tell  us 
in  one  breath  that  we  must  preach  Christ,  and  in 
the  next  tell  us  that  we  have  too  much  dogma. 
What  is  it  to  preach  Christ,  what  is  it  to  believe 
in  Christ,  but  to  give  the  fullest  and  heartiest 
assent  to  the  greatest  of  all  dogmas?  How  can 
I  preach  Christ  effectively  if  I  know  nothing 
of  His  relationship  to  God  the  Father,  nothing 
about  the  moral  crisis  that  brought  Him  into 
the  world,  and  nothing  of  God's  great  purpose 
in  the  plan  of  salvation?  To  believe  in  Christ 
is,  of  necessity,  to  know  something  about  the 
whole  circle  of  dogmatic  truth;  and  to  preach 
Christ,  therefore,  is  to  a  very  great  extent  to 
preach  dogmas.  There  are  many  men  at  the 
present  time  who  tell  us  to  preach  Christ  ; 
but  if  we   speak   about   the  divinity  of  Christ, 


28  SERMON. 

or  about  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  they 
say  that  they  want  to  hear  of  what  Christ  said, 
not  of  what  Christ  did.  They  say,  '  Tell  us 
more  about  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.'  No 
concession  should  be  made  to  this  demand 
for  morals  without  dogma ;  though  we  are  far 
from  saying  that  morality  has  no  proper  place 
in  the  pulpit.  What  is  impHed,  however,  in 
preaching  morality?  When  you  preach  about 
what  Christ  said,  when  you  follow  the  Lord 
Jesus  into  the  great  rubrics  where  He  lays  down 
the  rule  for  human  conduct,  what  are  you  doing? 
You  are  dealing  with  the  science  of  ethics,  you 
are  laying  open  the  fundamental  questions  with 
respect  to  moral  obligation;  and  not  only  so, 
but  you  are  discussing  the  much-mooted  ques- 
tions with  respect  to  what  is  right  and  what  is 
wrong  in  the  practical  details  of  daily  life.  To 
preach  Christ  may  make  it  necessary  for  a  man 
to  deal  with  both  the  theoretical  and  the  prac- 
tical side  of  moral  philosophy.  To  preach 
Christ  to  men,  it  may  be  necessary  to  know 
men  in  the  relations  of  daily  life,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  lead  them  to  a  real  discernment  of  right 
and  wrong  and  to  a  conscientious  exercise  of 
will  with  reference  to  the  practical  questions  of 
every-day  experience. 


SERMON.  29 

Again,  it  is  not  meant,  when  we  are  told 
to  preach  Christ,  that  we  shall  limit  ourselves 
simply  to  declaration.  Men  sometimes  say 
this ;  and  while  there  is  a  sense  in  which  it  is 
true,  there  is  another  sense  in  which  it  is  by  no 
means  true.  They  say,  '  Tell  men  to  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ ;  tell  them  that  Christ  is  divine ; 
tell  them  that  we  are  justified  by  faith;  let  your 
work  begin  and  end  in  declaration.'  But  that  is 
not  following  the  apostolic  example ;  —  that  is 
not  to  be  the  limit  of  our  preaching.  Paul 
said,  regarding  his  preaching,  **  I  persuade  men, 
and  am  made  manifest  in  their  consciences." 
And  that  is  what  we  are  to  do  under  similar 
circumstances.  When,  having  enunciated  the 
truth,  we  find  ourselves  confronted  with  scep- 
ticism, are  we  only  to  say  things?  can  we  not 
show  things?  Can  we  not  demonstrate  to  men 
their  error?  May  we  not  enforce  what  we  say  by 
showing  men  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  about 
it?  May  we  not  still  further  say  that  this  has 
been  the  testimony  of  all  ages ;  this  is  what 
good  men  all  over  the  world  believe  ?  May  we 
not  say  that  it  is  in  harmony  with  our  deepest 
and  truest  instincts?  May  we  not  say  it  is  in 
accordance  with  the  conscience  of  mankind? 
May  we  not  say  it  is  in    accordance   with   the 


30  SERMON. 

analogies  of  the  physical  world  ?  Oh,  but  when 
we  say  that,  we  go  far  beyond  the  area  of  dec- 
laration ;  we  are  attempting  to  justify  the  ways 
of  God  to  man,  to  make  men  see  what  is  the 
length,  and  breadth,  and  height,  and  depth, 
and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  that  passeth 
knowledge. 

But  the  injunction  to  preach  Christ  does  not 
limit  me  to  the  statement  of  apostolic  reasons 
for  the  necessity  of  believing  on  Him.  Sup- 
pose I  tell  a  man  that  the  Bible  affirms  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  that  he  ought  therefore 
to  worship  Him ;  and  the  man  replies,  '  I  grant, 
if  your  premises  are  true,  your  conclusion  is 
right ;  but  I  dispute  your  premises.  My  trouble 
is  that  I  do  not  beHeve  the  Bible  to  be  inspired, 
and  do  not  therefore  accept  it  as  the  best,  or  the 
exclusive,  authority.'  Then  I  ask,  whether  in 
the  discharge  of  my  functions  as  a  Christian  min- 
ister it  is  not  both  my  prerogative  and  my  boun- 
den  duty,  not  only  to  say  that  this  is  what  the 
Scripture  teaches,  but  to  show,  moreover,  that 
the  Scriptures  are  true?  They  tell  us  some- 
times that  there  is  no  room  for  apologetics  in 
the  pulpit.  They  tell  me  that  I  must  take  cer- 
tain facts  for  granted,  and  that  I  have  no  right 
to  debate  the  question.     I  repudiate  the  idea  of 


SERMON.  31 

putting  my  faith  upon  the  back  of  the  elephant 
called  the  Church,  and  the  Church  on  the  back 
of  the  tortoise  called  the  Bible,  and  then  refus- 
ing to  answer  the  inquirer  who  wishes  to  know 
what  supports  the  tortoise.  I  reject  this  Orien- 
tal cosmogony,  and  am  unwilling  that  it  shall 
find  shelter  in  the  Church  under  the  plea  of 
reverence  for  the  Bible.  The  Christian  religion, 
if  it  be  worth  anything,  will  bear  the  light  of  day. 
It  asks  for  scrutiny.  It  simply  wants  a  patient 
hearing,  a  fair  trial,  and  an  impartial  jury.  We 
believe  in  a  religion  that  stands  upon  testimony 
that  may  be  judged  according  to  the  canons  of 
certitude  employed  in  other  matters. 

Now,  if  to  preach  Christ  does  not  mean 
any  of  these  things,  I  ask,  What  does  it  mean? 
It  means  that  the  message  of  the  pulpit  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Bible.  The  gospel  is  not  man's 
speculation ;  and  we  have  no  right  to  present 
speculation  for  truth.  It  is  not  man's  wisdom ; 
and  we  have  no  right  to  substitute  that  for  the 
Word  of  God.  We  are  to  declare  the  truth,  and 
ask  men  to  believe  it,  because  it  comes  in  the 
name  and  with  the  authority  of  God.  If  men 
do  not  believe  that  this  is  God's  Word,  then  it 
is  our  duty  to  show  them  that  it  is ;  and  if  there 
are  any  barriers  in  their  way,  it  is  our  duty  to 


32  SERMON. 

remove  them ;  if  there  are  any  obstacles  to  the 
full  acceptance  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Scrip- 
ture, it  is  our  duty  to  help  to  overcome  them. 
Whose  duty  is  it,  if  not  ours,  to  show  them  that 
there  is  good  reason  for  believing  in  the  plenary 
inspiration  of  the  Word  of  God? 

Acknowledging  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God, 
the  next  thing  is  to  see  that  the  hero  of  this 
book  is  Jesus  Christ ;  that  all  lines  of  argument 
lead  to  Christ;  that  the  answer  to  every  ques- 
tion is  found  in  Christ;  that  He  is  the  sum  of 
all  w^isdom  and  the  solution  of  all  problems. 
When  we  see  that,  we  shall  not  wonder  at  the 
Apostle  Paul  when  he  said  that  he  preached 
nothing  else  but  Jesus  Christ.  Make  your  cir- 
cle as  large  as  you  please,  take  in  the  utmost 
limits  of  the  universe,  if  you  choose ;  and  what- 
ever be  the  question  you  touch,  it  will  lead 
you  back  by  straight  radiating  lines  to  Christ. 
We  can  understand  then  what  the  apostle  means 
when  he  tells  us  that  he  rejoiced  not  save  in 
the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the 
world  was  crucified  unto  him,  and  he  unto  the 
world. 

We  have  considered  simply  one  side  of  the 
preaching  function  of  the  Christian  minister. 
We  have  considered  merely  the  objective  side. 


SERMON.  33 

I  want  to  say  a  few  words  upon  the  subjective 
side.  The  minister  is  not  to  preach  himself: 
he  is  not  to  preach  his  philosophy,  but  God's 
Word ;  he  is  not  to  preach  for  his  own  ends,  but 
for  God's  glory.  Like  other  good  ideas,  this 
has  been  abused ;  hence  there  has  been  a  ten- 
dency in  some  quarters  to  suppress  everything 
Hke  individuality  in  the  speaker.  Accordingly 
they  robe  him  in  a  religious  dress,  require 
him  to  conform  to  a  symbolic  ritual,  suppress 
his  personality,  and  even  train  his  voice  to 
speak  in  unnatural  accents.  If  they  carry  this 
much  further,  they  will  add  a  Book  of  Com- 
mon Sermons  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  ; 
and  then  the  minister  will  simply  stand  up 
and  echo  what  other  people  think.  If  God 
meant  the  personality  of  men  to  be  suppressed 
in  that  way,  I  do  not  think  He  would  have 
embodied  so  much  of  it  in  the  doctrine  of  in- 
spiration. And  yet  those  who  are  most  anx- 
ious to  trammel  the  minister  by  conventionality 
and  the  restraints  of  King  Nomos  will  defend 
the  doctrine  of  inspiration  by  showing  that  it  is 
not  incompatible  with  the  free  expression  on 
the  part  of  the  sacred  writers  of  their  individual 
peculiarities.  That  is  exactly  God's  plan.  In 
that  plan  God  has  typified  the  way  of  preaching. 

3 


34  SERMON. 

You  cannot  sever  man  from  his  individuality. 
God  wants  a  man  to  preach  with  his  own  ideas ; 
He  wants  him  to  bring  his  whole  manhood  with 
him  into  the  pulpit.  He  wants  the  story  of  the 
Cross  to  go  into  every  fibre  of  his  life,  to  tingle 
at  his  finger-tips,  to  express  itself  in  his  eye 
and  in  his  voice,  so  that  his  words  will  at  least 
produce  the  impression  that  he  believes  what 
he  says  and  speaks  what  he  knows. 

We  can,  therefore,  be  very  charitable  toward 
those  who  difTer  with  us ;  we  can  have  a  very 
appreciative  estimate  of  men  who  do  not  preach 
as  we  do ;  we  can,  moreover,  see  that  it  is  im- 
possible in  the  very  nature  of  things  for  a  man 
to  empty  himself  of  the  attributes  of  his  person- 
ality. Whenever  a  man  reads  a  text,  if  he  is 
a  full-grown  man,  if  he  has  outgrown  his  baby- 
hood and  has  learned  to  look  at  things  with  his 
own  eyes,  he  sees  in  that  text  what  nobody  else 
sees  in  it ;  he  sees  in  it  what  nobody  else,  under 
the  same  circumstances,  is  likely  ever  to  see  in  it; 
because  it  is  not  alone  the  text-in-itself  which  he 
sees,  but  it  is  the  text-in-itself  in  relation  to  the 
man-in-himself.  And  it  is  under  these  circum- 
stances, —  when  he  brings  to  its  consideration  all 
his  powers  and  skill,  when  he  gets  his  soul  full  of 
the  meaning  which  the  words  suggest  to  him,  — 


SERMON.  35 

that  the  sermon  becomes  an  arrow  shot  from 
the  tense  bow-string  of  conviction,  and  hits  the 
mark  every  time.  A  sermon  is  simply  the  river 
of  a  man's  h'fe;  into  it,  along  the  valleys  and 
from  the  remotest  hill-tops,  flow  the  streams  of 
his  daily  conscious  experience,  that  give  it  color 
and  character.  Subjective  the  sermon  must  be ; 
egotistic  it  ought  never  to  be.  That  being  the 
case,  we  see  the  moral  element  that  is  involved 
in  the  statement  sometimes  made  to  us,  when  we 
are  told  to  be  ourselves.  '  Be  yourself,'  they  tell 
us.  The  moral  element  that  enters  into  it  is  the 
fact  that  we  are  responsible  to  a  very  large 
extent  for  the  kind  of  training  that  we  bring  to 
our  work.  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things? 
How  are  we  adequately  to  discharge  the  duty  of 
preaching  Christ?  It  is  not  that  we  shall  simply 
be  careful  about  our  living,  in  order  that  those 
watchful  people  who  are  ever  looking  out  for 
error  and  for  discrepancy  between  preaching 
and  practice,  may  not  be  gratified ;  it  is  not  that 
we  are  to  be  careful  that  there  shall  be  a  corre- 
spondence between  what  we  say  and  what  we  do  : 
but  we  ought  to  seek  after  higher  spiritual  cul- 
ture ;  we  ought  to  aim  for  higher  and  larger 
Christian  experience,  in  order  that  we  may  come 
with  a  larger  personality  to  the  preaching  of  the 


36  SERMON. 

unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  For,  after  all,  the 
great  qualification  for  effective  preaching  is  in 
the  sphere  of  personal  experience.  And  when 
I  speak  of  experience,  I  mean  a  very  different 
thing  from  what  some  people  term  experience. 
I  do  not  mean  observation.  I  do  not  mean  the 
knowledge  of  other  people's  experience.  I  mean 
the  real,  deep,  personal  experience  which  a  man 
has  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  is 
when  a  man  has  lived  long  in  communion  with 
Jesus,  it  is  when  he  has  brooded  long  over  his 
own  conscious  guilt,  that  he  will  hold  his  audi- 
ence while  he  tells  the  old,  old  story  of  Jesus 
and  His  love.  It  is  when  he  knows  the  ins  and 
outs  of  his  own  conscious  life,  when  he  appre- 
ciates the  power  of  Christ's  salvation,  and  the 
relation  of  his  own  soul  to  that  salvation,  —  it  is 
then,  and  only  then,  —  that  his  logic  is  incisive 
and  his  words  are  hot;  then  it  is  that  he  will 
arrest  and  hold  attention.  It  is  one  thing  to 
know  men,  and  another  thing  to  know  Man. 
We  may  become  acquainted  with  men  by  obser- 
vation ;  but  if  the  minister  wishes  to  know  Man, 
let  him  study  the  contents  of  his  consciousness ; 
let  him  draw  from  the  deep  well  of  his  own 
experience, — for  the  water  in  that  bucket  is  a 
fair  sample  of  all  the  rest. 


SERMON.  2)1 

But  the  question  is  whether,  when  you  have 
made  your  amplest  preparation,  men  will  hear. 

It  is  said  that  the  declarations  of  the  gospel 
are  behind  the  times.  We  do  not  believe  this 
allegation ;  although  it  may  be  that  some  local 
circumstances  may  give  the  coloring  of  plausi- 
bility to  the  suggestion.  It  is  true  that  in  some 
places  it  is  very  hard  to  support  churches ;  that 
congregations  seem  to  be  dwindling;  that  the 
second  service  is  not  well  attended  ;  and  that 
in  view  of  this  state  of  things  men  are  asking, — 
and  may  well  ask,  —  What  shall  we  do?  Some 
say  one  thing;  some  say  another.  Some  say 
that  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  bring  the  people 
together.  Men  cannot  preach  to  people  who  are 
not  there.  And  so,  at  any  price,  and  by  any  de- 
vice, —  even  at  the  cost  of  conventionality,  cus- 
tom, and  historic  association,  —  they  say  the 
people  must  be  induced  to  come.  Another  an- 
swer is,  Let  us  meet  the  people  half-way  ;  let  us 
recognize  the  facts ;  let  us  not  undertake  to  go 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  age.  If  the  people 
want  only  one  service  a  day,  let  us  have  but  one 
service.  If  they  want  a  praise  service  in  the 
evening  let  us  have  it.  If  they  are  tired  of  old 
methods  of  presenting  the  gospel,  let  us  aban- 
don them. 


38  SERMON. 

It  is  said,  again,  Let  us  recognize  the  fact  that 
society  is  demanding,  and  the  spirit  of  the  age 
is  asking  for  less  preaching.  Another  class 
of  men  —  pessimistic,  with  no  enthusiasm,  dis- 
heartened and  discouraged  —  say  that  the  most 
that  we  can  do  is  to  take  our  warrant  as  we  find 
it  in  the  New  Testament,  and  preach  the  whole 
counsel  of  God,  whether  men  shall  hear  or 
whether  they  shall  forbear ;  that  Paul  may 
preach  and  Apollos  may  water,  but  God  must 
give  the  increase ;  that  therefore  it  is  our  duty 
to  preach,  and  leave  results  with  God. 

This  is  the  way  men  are  looking  at  these 
practical  questions  at  the  present  time.  We 
believe,  nevertheless,  that  men  are  still  willing 
to  listen  to  the  gospel ;  that  there  never  was  a 
time  when  the  questions  in  which  men  are  inter- 
ested —  the  secular  questions  in  which  they  are 
interested  —  came  so  close  to  the  Christian  ques- 
tions, or  pressed  so  much  upon  the  very  border- 
land of  Christian  life  ;  that  there  never  was  a 
time  when  so  many  were  asking,  'What  shall 
we  do  to  obtain  delivery  from  our  unrest?'  and 
that  there  never  was  a  time  when  the  gospel 
more  fully  met  the  exigencies  of  life,  more  fully 
satisfied  the  legitimate  demands  of  mankind, 
more  fully  showed  itself  equal  to  the  work  of 


SERMON.  39 

adequately  answering  all  the  irrepressible  ques- 
tions of  human  life.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
remember  that  the  gospel,  in  the  very  nature  of 
things,  must  needs  be  urged  upon  men,  and 
that  there  are  elements  about  it  that  men  do 
not  like.  But  let  us  also  remember,  that  though 
men  may  not  like  them  (for  the  carnal  mind 
is  at  enmity  against  God),  it  is  these  very  ele- 
ments that  attract  their  notice  and  hold  their 
attention. 

It  may  seem  paradoxical,  it  may  seem  like  a 
contradiction,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  unde- 
niably true,  that  the  very  dogmatic  statements 
that  men  oppose  —  these  verities  of  the  eternal 
world,  of  divine  grace,  and  of  a  state  of  retri- 
bution —  are  the  very  things  they  hold  to.  And 
so,  if  you  would  keep  your  people,  if  you  would 
hold  your  congregations  by  an  effort  to  make 
your  preaching  popular,  do  not  seek  to  fill  your 
church  by  giving  up  God  and  preaching  mo- 
rality. It  is  not  morality  that  has  revolutionized 
society  and  reformed  manners:  it  is  dogma; 
it  is  the  doctrine  of  a  divine  Christ  and  atoning 
blood. 

Let  us  maintain  this  faith  as  we  seek  to  preach 
the  Word  of  God,  and  bear  the  responsibilities 
that  rest  upon  us.     For  if  it  be  true  that  the 


40  SERMON. 

influence  of  preaching  is  declining,  and  that 
congregations  are  falling  off,  no  small  share  of 
responsibility  for  this  rests  upon  ministers  them- 
selves. Let  us  remember  that  the  gospel  of 
Christ  is  the  only  system  that  embodies  the 
great  ideas  of  salvation  ;  the  only  effective 
scheme  of  moral  renovation ;  and  the  only 
agency  which,  while  protesting  in  authoritative 
terms  against  abounding  sin  and  discarding  all 
considerations  of  expediency  in  its  estimates  of 
right  and  wrong,'  is  at  the  same  time  able  to 
furnish  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  hfe  and  provide  for 
its  realization  in  a  better  world. 

May  the  time  never  come  when  a  Sabbath- 
breaking,  God-forgetting  multitude  shall  look 
into  our  empty  churches  and  our  deserted  pul- 
pits, and  see,  in  the  buildings  that  we  have 
reared  for  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  the  monu- 
mental witnesses  of  a  golden  age,  when  men 
believed  in  God  and  had  hope  of  the  eternal 
world. 


THE  ORDINATION. 

THE  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  It  now  becomes  my 
duty,  acting  as  moderator  of  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  in  the  absence  of  Dr.  White,  to  state  that, 
at  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  after  a  very 
creditable  and  highly  satisfactory  examination  as  to  his 
views  of  Christian  truth,  and  his  desires  in  seeking  the 
Christian  ministry,  Mr.  Richard  D.  Harlan  was  re- 
ceived, and  this  time  and  place  appointed  for  his  ordi- 
nation to  the  gospel  ministry,  and  his  installation  into 
the  office  of  minister  to  this  people.  In  pursuance  of 
the  Presbytery's  order,  the  candidate  will  now  present 
himself  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  give  his  assent  to 
the  following  questions  :  — 

Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  to  be  the  Word  of  God,  the  only  infallible 
rule  of  faith  and  practice  ? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Do  you  sincerely  receive 
and  adopt  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  this  church  as 
containing  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  ? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Do  you  approve  of  the 
government  and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  these  United  States? 


42  ORDINATION. 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Do  you  promise  subjec- 
tion to  your  brethren  in  the  Lord  ? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Have  you  been  induced, 
as  far  as  you  know  your  own  heart,  to  seek  the  office 
of  the  holy  ministry  from  love  to  God,  and  a  sincere 
desire  to  promote  His  glory  in  the  Gospel  of  His 
Son? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  have. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Do  you  promise  to  be 
zealous  and  faithful  in  maintaining  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  purity  and  peace  of  the  church,  what- 
ever persecution  or  opposition  may  arise  unto  you  on 
that  account? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Do  you  engage  to  be 
faithful  and  diligent  in  the  exercise  of  all  private  and 
personal  duties  which  become  you  as  a  Christian  and  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  as  well  as  in  all  relative  duties, 
and  the  public  duties  of  your  office ;  endeavoring  to 
adorn  the  profession  of  the  Gospel  by  your  conversa- 
tion, and  walking  with  exemplary  piety  before  the  flock 
over  which  God  shall  make  you  overseer? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    I  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  Are  you  now  willing  to 
take  the  charge  of  this  congregation,  agreeably  to  your 
declaration  at  accepting  their  call ;  and  do  you  prom- 
ise to  discharge  the  duties  of  a  pastor  to  them,  as  God 
shall  give  you  strength  ? 

Mr.  Harlan  :    Yes. 


ORDINATION.  43 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Chambers  :  The  members  of  this 
congregation  will  now  signify  their  assent  to  the  follow- 
ing questions  in  the  usual  manner,  by  raising  the  right 
hand. 

Do  you,  the  people  of  this  congregation,  continue  to 
profess  your  readiness  to  receive  Mr.  Richard  D.  Har- 
lan, whom  you  have  called  to  be  your  minister? 

Do  you  promise  to  receive  the  word  of  truth  from 
his  mouth  with  meekness  and  love,  and  to  submit  to 
him  in  the  due  exercise  of  discipline? 

Do  you  promise  to  encourage  him  in  his  arduous 
labor,  and  to  assist  his  endeavors  for  your  instruction 
and  spiritual  edification? 

Do  you  engage  to  continue  to  him  while  he  is  your 
pastor  that  competent  worldly  maintenance  which  you 
have  promised,  and  whatever  else  you  may  see  needful 
for  the  honor  of  religion  and  his  comfort  among  you  ? 

The  Moderator  :  The  members  of  the  Presbytery 
will  now  gather  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  and  we  will  pro- 
ceed to  ordain  the  candidate. 


ORDINATION   PRAYER. 

By  the  moderator,  the  Rev.  JAMES  CHAMBERS. 
(The  Candidate  kneeling  in  the  circle  of  the  Presbj'ters.) 

/^^  THOU  who  art  our  Father;  Thou  who 
art  the  author  of  the  Christian  ministry ; 
Thou  who  hast  called  and  commissioned  those 
who  are  to  proclaim  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ,  we  beseech  Thee  now  that  Thou  wilt 
solemnize  our  minds  as  we  proceed  to  set  apart 
to  the  Gospel  ministry  this  our  brother  whom 
we  believe  Thou  hast  called  to  take  part  in  this 
work  with  us.  We  ask  of  Thee,  our  Heavenly 
Father,  that  Thou  wilt  ratify  in  heaven  that 
which  we  Thy  servants  perform  upon  earth. 
Grant,  O  our  God,  that  as  Thy  servant  is  thus 
consecrated  to  the  Gospel  ministry  he  may  real- 
ize the  importance  of  the  office,  he  may  under- 
stand that  it  is  the  "  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  "  he  may  feel  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
his  God  and  his  strength ;  and  he  may  have  it 
as  his  whole  desire  to  know  nothing  among 
these  people  save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  cruci- 


ORDINATION   PRAYER.  45 

fied.  O  Lord,  we  ask  Thee  that  Thou  wilt 
manifest  Thyself  to  these  people  through  this 
Thy  servant.  May  he  be  Thy  minister  indeed. 
May  he  have  Thy  help  in  his  daily  walk  and 
conversation.  And  when  he  stands  before  the 
people  to  proclaim  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  do 
Thou  stand  by  him ;  be  Thou  in  him ;  be  Thou 
a  power  through  him.  O  Lord,  we  ask  of  Thee 
that  Thou  wilt  make  him  a  power  for  Christian 
truth  in  this  community.  O  Lord,  we  pray  Thee 
that  Thou  wilt  attend  him  throughout  his  whole 
life;  and  we  ask  that  when  his  ministry  shall 
have  been  completed  upon  the  earth,  when  he 
shall  be  called  higher,  we  pray  that  Thou  wilt 
give  him  an  abundant  entrance  into  the  kingdom 
above ;  and  may  there  be  gathered  many,  many 
souls  whom  he  shall  have  been  instrumental  in 
bringing  to  the  blessed  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
We  ask  it  for  Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  CHAMBERS :   And  now,  as  the 

Moderator  of  the   Presbytery  of  New  York,  I 

declare  this  relation  a  fact.     The  Rev.  Richard 

D.  Harlan    is  the    Pastor  of  this  people,  —  the 

First  Presbyterian  Church  of  ^New  York ;    and 

may  the  abundant  blessing  of  God  abide  upon 

this  union. 

Hymn  No.  831. 


CHARGE    TO    THE    PASTOR. 

By  the  Rev.   W.   M.   PAXTON,  D.D. 

ly/TY  DEAR  Brother,  you  are  now  a  Minister 
of  the  gospel  and  the  Pastor  of  a  church. 
You    have   this   evening    reached    the   point   at 
which  you  have  been  aiming  through  long  years 
of  patient  and  laborious  study.     This  short  ser- 
vice has  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  your  life. 
You  are  not  now  what  you  were  one  short  hour 
ago.     Up  to  this  time  you  have  been  simply  a 
member  of  the  church.     Now  you  are  a  Minis- 
ter and  a  Pastor.     You  sustain  a  new  relation 
to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  to  the  souls  of 
men,  and   to  that   great  and  divine, institution, 
the  Church,  which  embosoms   the  destinies   of 
the   world.     You    are    invested   with    an   office 
which  opens  to  you  high  privileges,  but  which 
at  the  same  time  involves  the  most  solemn  re- 
sponsibilities and  the  most  arduous  labors.     You 
are   surrounded   by  a   congregation   of  people 
whose  souls  are  committed  to  your  care.     You 
have  voluntarily  assumed  to  yourself,  and  you 


VY  vX/L  o  Ci/H^c^^^ 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR.  47 

are  charged  before  God  with  the  responsibiUty 
of  the  salvation  of  these  souls.  This  sense  of 
responsibility  upon  your  part  cannot  be  evaded 
or  lightened  by  thinking  of  your  people  in  the 
mass,  as  a  congregation,  or  as  a  community. 
It  is  a  responsibility  that  is  personal  and  indi- 
vidual. You  are  not  sent  here  simply  to  take 
measures  to  benefit  a  mass  of  people,  or  to  deliver 
a  message  to  a  community;  but  you  are  com- 
missioned to  carry  this  gospel  to  every  individ- 
ual soul.  It  is  for  you,  therefore,  to  single  out 
every  man,  woman,  and  child,  and  to  set  them 
before  your  own  conscience  as  a  trust  which 
God  has  committed  to  you,  and  for  which  you 
must  give  an  account  at  the  Great  Day.  I 
charge  you,  therefore,  my  Brother,  to  fulfil  your 
ministry  here  under  this  solemn  sense  of  your 
personal  relation  to  souls,  and  under  the  remem- 
brance of  the  account  which  you  must  give  of 
your  stewardship. 

With  this  single  thought  as  to  the  responsibil- 
ities of  your  ministry,  permit  me  now  to  pass  to 
other  themes.  Speaking  as  one  of  your  teachers, 
I  might  be  permitted  to  assume  that  upon  all 
the  questions  relating  to  the  nature  and  the 
duties  of  the  ministry,  and  upon  all  the  dif- 
ferent aspects  of  your  pastoral  work,  you  have 


48  CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR. 

been  sufficiently  instructed.  Indeed,  it  is  upon 
this  special  point  that  I  have  been  charging  you 
for  the  last  three  years.  But  turning  from  this, 
it  seems  to  me  that  it  will  be  eminently  appro- 
priate to-night  to  speak  to  you  as  your  pre- 
decessor in  this  pastorate,  and  to  point  your 
attention  to  duties  and  to  difficulties  which  be- 
long to  the  somewhat  peculiar  position  which 
you  are  now  to  occupy. 

Let  me  say  to  you,  then,  in  the  first  place, 
that  you  are  the  Pastor  of  an  ancient  and  his- 
toric Church,  whose  organization  dates  back  to 
the  year  171 7.  The  memories  of  a  century 
and  three-quarters  gather  around  this  venerable 
church  organization.  It  is  literally  the  Mother 
Church.  Historically,  it  is  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  city  of  New  York.  No  one  can 
study  the  history  of  this  church  without  being 
impressed  and  amazed  at  the  streams  of  benefi- 
cent influence  that  have  gone  out  from  this 
source,  and  at  the  manner  in  which  this  church 
has  been  intimately  connected  with  all  those 
great  moral,  religious,  benevolent,  philanthropic, 
and  patriotic  agencies  which  from  the  very 
earliest  times  controlled  the  formative  influ- 
ences in  the  growth  and  development  of  this 
wonderful    city.      Nor    were    these    influences 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR.  49 

merely    local,    but    wide-spread,    through    this 
land   and   other  lands.      How  many  beneficent 
organizations    have    looked    to    this    church    as 
their  foster-mother !     How  many  churches  have 
been  organized  and  supported  by  her  liberality ! 
How  many  schools,  colleges,  seminaries  of  learn- 
ing,  hospitals   and   asylums,   and   other  institu- 
tions   of   benevolence    and    philanthropy,    have 
received   either,  in  the  first  place,  their  endow- 
ment, or  afterwards  their  support,  through  that 
intelligent  and  discriminating  principle  of  Chris- 
tian giving  which  has  been  for  so   many  years 
characteristic    of   this    church !      To    the    great 
Boards   of  our  General  Assembly  this   church 
has  been  literally  a  ''  fountain  of  living  water." 
Nor  is  this  influence  confined  to  our  own  coun- 
try.    Other  lands  were  partakers  of  these  bless- 
ings.    Dr.    Chalmers's    great   schemes    for    the 
Church  of  Scotland  received  their  first  encour- 
agement here,  and  afterwards  material  assistance 
for  many  years.     The  Waldensian  Church  owes 
much  of  its  present  prosperity  to  the  assistance 
here  received.      Their  Missions  were  succored 
and   supported  ;    and    their   Theological   Semi- 
nary  at   Florence  was  the  gift  of  this  church. 
Time  would  fail  us  to  enumerate    the  mission- 
aries   and    mission    schools   which    throughout 


50  CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR. 

the  whole  world  have  reason  to  call  this  church 
blessed. 

My  dear  Brother,  I  make  mention  of  these 
things  to-night  because  they  throw  light  upon 
your  position  and  upon  your  work.  You  are 
the  Pastor  of  a  church  which  has  a  character,  a 
historical  character,  to  sustain.  You  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  people  who  take  an  honest  pride 
in  their  past  record,  and  who  have  been  edu- 
cated in  sympathy  with  this  expansive  spirit  of 
beneficence.  You  will  feel  it,  therefore,  to  be 
your  duty  to  cherish  a  hearty  sympathy  with  all 
these  great  beneficent  and  religious  agencies,  to 
exert  all  your  influence  as  Pastor  to  keep  alive 
this  spirit  of  generous  giving,  and  to  preserve 
this  church  as  a  fountain  of  living  waters  to  all 
the  Boards  of  the  General  Assembly  in  all  their 
various  enterprises. 

Perhaps  I  have  said  enough  upon  this  sub- 
ject; but,  my  brother,  it  occurs  to  me  that  your 
position  as  Pastor  of  this  ancient  church  is 
perhaps  more  peculiar  than  you  are  yet  aware. 
You  have  grown  very  rapidly  in  age  during  the 
last  hour.  You  have  changed  from  a  youth  to  a 
patriarch  in  the  short  space  of  a  single  evening. 
By  the  statute  law  of  the  state  of  New  York  you 
are  now  the  oldest  Presbyterian  minister  in  this 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR.  51 

city.  Let  me  explain.  That  wise  philanthropist, 
Captain  Randall,  who  endowed  the  Sailors'  Snug 
Harbor,  named  in  his  will  as  one  of  the  ex-officio 
trustees,  "  the  oldest  Presbyterian  minister  in 
the  city  of  New  York."  It  soon  began  to  be  a 
question  of  discussion  who  was  indicated  by  this 
language.  The  Legislature  was  appealed  to,  and 
it  was  solemnly  enacted  that  the  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  according  to  the  in- 
tent of  that  will,  is  the  oldest  Presbyterian  minis- 
ter in  this  city.  My  dear  brother,  you  are  now 
that  venerable  Patriarch.  I  held  that  enviable 
prominence  for  eighteen  years,  but  I  now  resign 
it  to  you.  As  this  is  the  Mother  church,  you  are 
now  the  ecclesiastical  Father  of  all  these  Pres- 
byters ;  and  I  charge  you  to  watch  over  them 
with  paternal  solicitude,  and  train  them,  as  I 
did,  in  a  pure  orthodoxy  and  in  a  true  Presby- 
terianism. 

What  I  have  already  said  leads  me  to  mention 
another  peculiar  feature  of  your  position,  arising 
from  the  age  and  the  location  of  this  church. 
This  is  what  is  called  a  **  down-town  church." 
There  is  a  general  impression  that  "  down- 
town churches"  cannot  be  maintained  in  their 
vigor.  What  I  want  is,  in  this  public  way  and 
in  the  presence  of  these  people,  to  guard  you 


52  CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR. 

against  the  discouragement  of  a  mistaken  idea 
which  will  be  rung  in  your  ears  by  a  whole 
chorus  of  "  croakers  "  outside  of  your  own  con- 
gregation. Popular  impressions  are  often  false. 
Experience  teaches  us,  when  we  hear  that  such 
and  such  things  are  the  common  sentiment,  to 
stop  and  think  whether  that  is  true.  There  is 
doubtless  a  common  impression  abroad  that  old 
churches,  like  old  houses,  have  in  them  necessa- 
rily the  elements  of  decay;  and  that  old  con- 
gregations cannot  maintain  a  life  fresh  enough 
for  vigorous,  aggressive  work.  But  all  this 
overlooks  entirely  the  fact  that  the  life  of  the 
church  is  spiritual,  and  therefore  not  subject  to 
this  law  of  outward  decay.  Where  the  Holy 
Ghost  dwells,  the  life  is  ever  new.  God's 
promise  is,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee ; "  and 
He  does  not  abandon  churches  in  which  He 
has  been  accustomed  to  dwell  for  well-nigh  two 
centuries. 

Some  will  say  to  you  that  the  course  of  events 
here  is  against  you,  that  the  tide  of  population  is 
turning  towards  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  and 
that  it  will  leave  this  church  stranded  upon  the 
shallows.  The  premises  are  partly  true,  but  we 
cannot  admit  the  conclusion.  The  tide  of  fash- 
ion is  towards  the  Park;  but  it  is  not  fashion  that 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR.  53 

we  want  in  a  church.  The  tide  of  wealth  is  in 
the  same  direction ;  but  it  is  not  wealth  that 
makes  an  aggressive  church.  Let  those  tides 
roll  on ;  you  will  still  have  a  deep  sea  of  people 
all  around  you.  Take  your  stand  in  front  of 
that  church  door  and  look  around  you.  You 
will  see  that  it  is  surrounded  by  fine  edifices,  by 
a  crowded  population,  and  you  will  see  that  a 
thronging  multitude  is  going  up  and  down  these 
streets  and  passing  your  church  door  in  every 
direction.  Now  where  there  are  people,  there 
may  be  a  church ;  and  where  there  is  a  crowded 
population,  a  flourishing  church  is  possible. 

There  are  persons  also  who  will  tell  you 
that  the  population  of  the  city  of  New  York  is 
more  heterogeneous  than  that  of  any  other  city, 
and  that  in  this  mixture  of  nationalities  there 
are  some  who  have  no  care  for  religion  what- 
ever, and  others  who  have  no  sympathy  with 
the  mode  of  worship  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
To  these  we  answer  that  this  mixture  is  not 
as  great  in  this  particular  locality  as  in  some 
others.  I  have  been  treading  these  streets  for 
eighteen  years,  and  I  am  fully  satisfied  that 
there  is  a  very  large  multitude  of  people  who 
by  simple,  natural  affinities  can  be  brought 
into   the   Presbyterian   Church.      Subtract   this 


54  CHARGE   TO    THE    PASTOR. 

mixture  of  nationalities,  and  you  still  have  abun- 
dant material  left. 

There  are  others  who  will  say  to  you  that  in 
this  particular  district  around  this  church  there 
have  been  more  churches  of  the  Presbyterian 
family  as  compared  with  the  element  that  would 
naturally  become  Presbyterian,  than  in  any  other 
part  of  this  city.  That  is  true;  but  it  is  not 
true  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  it  a  dis- 
couragement. It  is  true  just  so  far  as  to  show 
you  that  your  success  will  depend  upon  vigor- 
ous exertion.  There  is  no  doubt  that  there  is 
a  large  number  of  Presbyterian  churches  here ; 
but  there  are  far  more  people  than  are  sufficient 
to  fill  all  these  churches ;  and  in  all  this,  as 
in  everything  else,  my  experience  is  that  the 
'*  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich." 

Others  will  tell  you  that  the  middle  class  in 
society  constitutes  the  strength  of  every  con- 
gregation, and  that  this  middle  class  of  people 
has  been  eliminated  to  a  very  large  extent 
from  the  population  of  New  York.  They  have 
moved  out  into  the  adjoining  cities  and  vil- 
lages, where  the  cost  of  living  is  cheaper. 
Hence  our  city  churches  are  weakened,  and 
are  composed  largely  of  the  rich  and  the 
poor,   with  very  few  of  the  intermediate  class 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR.  55 

to  soften  the  distinction  between  them.  This 
is  a  very  serious  truth.  But  in  this  matter 
you  will  not  be  burdened  with  a  difficulty  which 
is  not  common  to  all  your  brethren  in  the  min- 
istry. There  is  not  a  minister  in  this  city  of 
any  denomination  who  does  not  feel  weakened 
in  this  way,  —  by  the  elimination  of  the  middle 
class  from  the  population  of  the  city.  But 
your  difficulty  in  this  respect  will  not  be  as 
great  as  that  of  many  others.  The  middle 
classes  that  still  remain  in  the  city  of  New  York 
do  not  follow  the  tide  of  wealth  and  fashion  to 
the  upper  part  of  the  city,  but  they,  are  all 
around  you ;  and  you,  my  brother,  have  the 
same  opportunity  with  all  other  ministers  to 
gather  them  into  your  fold. 

I  have  referred  to  some  of  the  difficulties 
which  may  lie  in  your  pathway ;  and  in  looking 
at  them  we  see  that,  like  everything  else  that  is 
seen  through  a  fog,  they  are  greatly  exagger- 
ated. When  we  come  to  look  them  squarely 
in  the  face,  they  are  not  discouragements  at 
all;  but  only  incentives  to  diligent  and  coura- 
geous work.  Keeping  in  mind  this  view  of  the 
situation,  you  will  be  able  to  adapt  your  means 
and  instrumentalities  to  the  exact  aspects  of 
your   work.     Much   will   depend   upon    earnest 


56  CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR. 

and  faithful  pastoral  visitation  and  upon  the  use 
of  your  Sabbath   schools,  as  the  means  of  in- 
troducing you   to  the    people   outside   of  your 
own  congregation.     Never  miss  an  opportunity 
to    get   acquainted   with    new   people.     Accept 
invitations    to  attend    funerals  and  to  visit  the 
sick  and  the  dying.     Encourage  your  people  to 
employ  one  or  two  or  more  missionaries  to  go 
forth   into  all  this  surrounding  region  carrying 
the  gospel  from  house  to  house,  and  from  per- 
son to  person,  inviting  the  people  to  the  church, 
and   gathering  the  children   into  your  Sabbath 
school.     With  this  and  other  modes  which  will 
be  readily  suggested  to  your  own  mind,  together 
with  the  simple  and  affectionate  preaching   of 
the  gospel    (and   with   the    help    of  an   organ, 
which  has  become  an  imperative   necessity  in 
this   church),  I   have  but  little    doubt  you  will 
achieve  a  success  which  will   make  your  own 
heart  glad. 

It  might  be  pleasant  and  profitable  to  dwell 
upon  other  points,  but  time  will  not  permit. 
Let  me  say  in  conclusion,  that  in  all  the  details 
of  your  work  you  should  be  free  to  adopt  your 
own  plans  and  to  pursue  your  own  methods, 
and  your  hands  should  not  be  in  any  way  tied 
by  old  customs  or  by  established  precedents. 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PASTOR.  57 

Let  me  say  to  you  in  the  presence  of  your 
people,  that  you  must  not  in  any  way  be  tram- 
melled by  the  customs  and  methods  of  your 
predecessors,  any  further  than  they  coincide 
with  your  own  judgment,  or  are  approved  by 
your  own  taste.  Take  your  stand  here  in  this 
pastorate  with  a  manly  independence ;  and  by 
the  blessing  of  God  I  feel  sure  that  you  will 
find  it  one  of  the  great  happinesses  of  your  life 
to  testify  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  midst 
of  these  crowded  thoroughfares,  and  to  a  people 
who  will  love  and  appreciate  the  gospel  of 
God's  dear  Son. 

My  dear  Brother,  I  leave  you  now  in  the 
hands  of  a  people  who  will  love  and  encourage 
you.  And  when  I  remember  all  their  uniform 
kindness  and  forbearance  to  me,  it  gives  me  the 
greatest  encouragement  to  believe  that  you  will 
find  in  their  midst  a  happy  home  and  a  success- 
ful ministry. 

My  dear  Brother,  may  the  richest  blessings  of 
God  rest  upon  you  ! 


CHARGE    TO    THE    PEOPLE. 

By  the  Rev.  JOHN   R.   PAXTON,  D.D. 

TT  is  odd  how  this  word  ''  charge,"  which  is 
associated  with  bayonets  and  blood,  should 
have  come  into  use  for  such  a  peaceful,  pastoral, 
and    right-hand-of-fellowship  service  as  we  are 
now  engaged    in.     But  however  menacing  and 
military  the  word  is,  it  has  no  terrors  for  us  on 
this  occasion.     We  are  not  here  to  do  anything 
by  argument  or  force.     There  is  no  enemy  to 
be  attacked,  no   opposition  to  be  disarmed  or 
conciliated.     We  are  brethren  here,  and  we  are 
come  to  give  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  and  a 
cordial  "  God  bless  you  "  to  our  brother,  your 
Pastor,  and  to  you,  the  people  of  this  church ; 
we   are    come  to  pray  with    you    and  for   you, 
that  the  relation  now  consummated  may  con- 
tinue through  many  years,  and  be  increasingly 
blessed  of  God  in  its  reciprocal  duties  and  in  its 
promised  mutual  rewards. 

To  charge  a  people  means  to  give  some  good 
counsel  to  a  congregation  concerning  the  duties 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE.  59 

of  the  people  to  the  Pastor.  Now,  to  give  ad- 
vice is  ahvays  delicate,  and  sometimes  intrusive. 
It  strikes  me  in  this  case  it  is  much  like  the 
little  moral  lecture  that  many  ministers  add  to 
a  marriage  ceremony,  —  telling  the  bride  and 
groom  to  be  good  and  they  will  be  happy, 
after  having  already  taken  one  another  for  better 
or  for  worse.  Well,  this  is  a  marriage  to-night, 
in  a  true  sense ;  a  solemn  and  critical  step  and 
act.  You  take  your  minister,  my  dear  brethren, 
for  better  or  for  worse,  as  men  take  wives.  You 
should  regard  the  bond  uniting  you  as  final, 
and  for  life;  and  whatever  happens,  not  to  be 
easily  dissolved,  or  its  obligations  carelessly 
treated.  The  first  year  in  any  new  relationship 
involving  the  consent  and  harmony,  the  contact 
and  communion,  of  two  souls,  or  two  lives,  or 
of  a  new  pulpit  and  a  strange  people,  is  always 
the  hardest,  and  usually  the  most  unsatisfactory. 
You  know  it  takes  time  to  get  acquainted,  to 
avoid  the  friction  of  two  wills,  to  learn  to  bear 
and  to  forbear,  and  to  take  as  well  as  give.  Our 
faults  usually  lie  on  the  surface,  and  are  easily 
discovered.  Our  faults,  unfortunately,  sometimes 
are  obtrusive,  like  vulgarity  or  vice ;  whereas 
virtues  are  like  God,  —  you  have  to  search  for 
them  sometimes;    or   they  are   like   violets, — 


6o  CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE, 

more  often  discovered  by  their  fragrance  than  by 
their  faces.     When  we  meet  a  stranger,  the  out- 
ward man  first  attracts  our  attention ;  we  notice 
his  stature,  his  manners,  his  Httle  idiosyncrasies ; 
we  remark  his  accent,  his  tones,  and  his  way  of 
saying  a  thing,  more  than  what  he  says.     But 
with  a  famihar  friend  we  are  seldom  conscious 
of  his  clothes,  or  of  his  accent,  or  of  his  manner. 
What  the  man  is,  and  what  he  says  and  does, 
interests  us  most.     Now,  when  a  new  Pastor  goes 
into  a  pulpit,  the  people,  for  a  good  long  time, 
see   the   man,~h\s   gestures,    his  mannerisms. 
They  mentally  compare  him  with  the  familiar 
and  endeared  figures  of  predecessors  who  stood 
for   long   years    in    that  pulpit.      They   say   to 
one  another,  he   does    not   do   this   or  that  in 
the  manner  of  the   former   Pastor.      My   dear 
friends,    give   your   Pastor   full    liberty   for   his 
own  personality.     Do  not  expect  him  to  be  like 
any  one  else.     Do  not  give  him,  I  pray  you, 
too   many  suggestions,  or  too   much  good  ad- 
vice.    Just  accept  him,  in  the  main,  as  God  has 
made  him.     Be  patient,  tolerant,  and  kind  ;  and 
before  a  year  has  passed  you  will  have  grown 
used  to  his  way  of  doing  things ;  so  much  so, 
that  you  will  scarcely  think  of  the  man  in  the 
pulpit  at  all,  but  only  of  his  message,  his  Mas- 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE.  6 1 

ter,  his  word  of  exhortation,  his  argument  for 
truth,  his  enforcement  of  duty.  You  will  see 
not  the  ambassador,  with  his  credentials  and  his 
terms,  but  you  will  see  the  King  behind  him, 
who  sent  him,  and  whose  will  and  word  he  is  in 
this  pulpit  to  declare  unto  you.  Please  remem- 
ber, then,  that  the  first  year  is  always  the  hardest, 
either  in  setting  up  a  home  or  in  installing  a 
pastor.  It  requires  time  to  become  acquainted. 
Therefore  be  little  critical  at  first,  never  censo- 
rious, and  always  kind.  We  are  pliable  to  kind- 
ness ;  we  harden  under  harshness.  We  men  in 
the  pulpit  (somebody  tells  us  there  are  three 
sexes,  you  know)  are  like  the  women  in  your 
homes :  we  yield  much  to  your  love,  but  little 
to  your  compulsion  or  your  censure.  You  get 
the  best  out  of  us  by  confidence  and  kindness. 
Before  criticism  and  indifference  we  stiffen  into 
antagonism,  and  grow  ugly;  or  else  we  wilt  into 
despondency  and  timidity,  and  become  feeble 
and  apologetic.  Truly,  brethren,  sympathy,  con- 
fidence, and  a  little  judicious  praise  now  and 
then  get  more  out  of  us,  are  **  better  spurs  to 
the  sides  of  our  intent,"  than  fault-finding  and 
blame. 

Here  is  a  grand  old  historic  church ;  a  church 
of  whose  glory  fame  has  taken  charge   in  all 


62  CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE. 

the  land ;  a  church  renowned  for  royal  benefi- 
cence, and  no  less  renowned  for  sturdy  adher- 
ence to  Presbyterian  standards.  I  take  it  that 
a  church  a  hundred  and  seventy  years  old  has 
a  right  to  be  a  little  set  in  its  ways,  —  if  it 
chooses  to  be  set.  It  is  too  old,  possibly,  to 
learn  new  fashions  in  religion  easily.  This  is 
right.  Youth  must  not  presume  to  dictate  radi- 
cal changes  to  age.  The  stripling  Greeks  in  the 
camp  must  not  argue  with  the  venerable  Nes- 
tor when  he  speaks ;  or  a  young  Levite  fresh 
from  the  school  of  the  prophets  must  not  tell 
the  hoary  Elisha  how  to  build  the  temple  of 
God,  or  sweeten  the  waters  of  a  spring.  All 
churches,  all  Protestant  churches,  have  features, 
as  people  have  physiognomies.  Th^  Roman 
Catholic  churches  are  featureless,  largely  be- 
cause they  are  like  inns,  which  entertain  all 
comers  on  equal  terms :  the  same  infallible 
word,  the  same  inflexible  forms,  the  same  pray- 
ers, the  same  conditions.  But  in  our  Protestant 
churches  one  finds  features,  physiognomies ;  no 
two  are  alike.  The  minister  who  would  suc- 
ceed in  one  would  fail  absolutely  in  another. 
St.  Paul  himself  was  weak  before  some  congre- 
gations where  ApoUos  was  strong ;  and  ApoUos, 
with  his  tropical  heat  and  luxurious  imagination 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE.  63 

and  rhetoric,  was  ineffective  before  the  souls  of 
men  whose  heads  came  before  their  hearts  ;  who 
were  more  interested  in  the  logic  of  God's  deal- 
ings with  men  than  in  the  emotions  of  sentimen- 
tal piety.  It  is  so  now.  We  ministers  have  our 
particular  uses  and  gifts,  and  our  appropriate 
fields  of  labor.  All  of  us  are  not  equally  profit- 
able in  all  pulpits.  In  a  great  city  such  as  this 
is,  we  are  not  compelled  to  be  shown  the  way  to 
heaven  by  men  who  are  not  accented  on  the 
same  syllable  as  we  are,  or  who  are  not  of  our 
mood  of  mind.  We  can  choose,  —  the  people  of 
a  little  town  cannot ;  but  here  you  can  go  where 
you  are  best  edified. 

Now  the  point  of  all  this  I  will  tell  you. 
Churches,  like  the  planets,  carry  their  own  at- 
mosphere along  with  them.  You  have  an  atmos- 
phere. You  have  called  a  new,  young  Pastor. 
Please  give  him  time  to  get  acclimated  in  your 
air,  so  to  speak.  Give  him  time  to  learn  how  to 
breathe  through  your  lungs.  After  a  while, 
comprehending  your  needs,  he  will  be  able  to 
set  up  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
before  you  at  the  particular  angle  at  which  this 
good  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  old  church 
needs  to  see  it  in  order  to  be  interested  and 
moved.     You  will  do  this,  I  am  sure ;   not  ex- 


64  CHARGE   TO    THE    PEOPLE. 

pecting  too  much  at  first;  cordially  commending 
his  best  efforts,  and  generously  refusing  to  see 
occasional  slips  or  errors  or  faults  in  a  sermon. 
Let  me  tell  you,  confidentially,  that  we  men 
of  the  pulpit  preach  a  good  many  very  poor 
sermons.  No  man  is  always  equal  to  his  best 
self.  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels. 
We  are  not  always  upon  Pisgah,  in  intimate 
communion  with  God,  and  in  full  view  of  the 
Promised  Land.  Alas,  no !  for  we  are  men ; 
and  we  often  know  what  it  is  to  be  in  the  Slough 
of  Despond,  as  well  as  upon  the  Delectable 
Mountain  of  transfiguring  light  and  love  with 
Jesus  Christ,  at  times.  Therefore  bear  with  and 
pray  for  us,  and  your  Pastor,  often  and  much. 
Be  Aaron  to  this  Moses,  to  hold  up  his  hands 
in  your  church.  This  is  an  old  illustration,  but 
it  is  always  good,  and  is  never  out  of  place. 
Pray  for  him,  and  hold  up  his  hands,  —  that 
Aaronic  illustration  is  still  apt,  and  fit,  and 
profitable.  And  I  will  tell  you  why.  Anybody 
or  anything  we  pray  for  cannot  long  remain 
indifferent  to  us.  If  you  pray  for  anything  or 
any  one,  it  will  certainly  enlist  and  excite  and 
strengthen  your  interest  and  effort  in  that  per- 
son or  cause.  So  much  so,  that  we  will  strive 
to  make  good   in  conduct  and  in  deed ;   strive 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE.  65 

to   bring  about  the   blessings  we   have  begged 
from   God.     A   Christian  who  never  prays   for 
the  heathen,  —  well,  what  he  will  give  to  foreign 
missions   will   not   enrich    any   collection-plate. 
The  Christian  who  does  not  strengthen  his  heart 
and    fortify   his    soul    by   secret    and    frequent 
prayer  for  any  good  cause,  or  new  Pastor,  will 
soon  grow  weary  in  all  well-doing,  and  lose  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  both  church  and  Pastor. 
Verily  we  die  to  the  affections  of  those   from 
whom  we  are  long  separated ;  we  become  in- 
different and  dead  to  persons  we  do  not  often 
think  about,  or  warm  in  our  hearts  or  remember 
in  our  prayers.     So  please,  for  your  own  sakes 
as  well  as  for  his,  pray  often  for  your   Pastor. 
"More  things  are  wrought   by  prayer" — ySu 
know  the  rest  of  it.     Why?     Because  the  person 
we   carry  to  God,  on   our  knees,  will  certainly 
become  dear  to  us.     To  sow  a  prayer  is  to  reap 
an  act.     If  you  pray  God  to  relieve  the  poor, 
and  deny  a  just  appeal  on  your  alms,  you  di- 
vorce say-well  from  do-well,  which  was  abhorred 
and  denounced  by  Christ.     All  good,  steadfast 
labor  is  the   fruit  of  secret   prayer.     Pray   for 
your  Pastor.     If  you  do,  you  will  want  to  help 
him,    and    cheer   him,    and    sustain    him.      F'or 
whom  we  pray,  in  them  we  are  interested,  and 

5 


66  CHARGE    TO    THE    PEOPLE. 

for  them  we  are  active;  to  them  we  communi- 
cate strength  and  courage,  —  not  despondency 
or  doubt.  For  whom  we  pray,  we  labor.  The 
cause  we  Hft  up  to  heaven  is  the  cause  we  will 
fight  for,  give  to,  sacrifice  time  and  money,  use 
talents  and  loyalty  and  love  to  maintain,  ad- 
vance, and  its  triumph  secure.  So  pray  for  your 
Pastor;  and  never  doubt  he  will  know  it.  He 
will ;  and  I  will  tell  you  how  he  will  know  it. 
He  will  feel  your  prayers  in  the  grasp  of  your 
hand ;  he  will  see  them  in  your  sympathetic 
faces ;  he  will  realize  them  in  your  loyalty  and 
devotion;  and  he  will  be  upheld,  strengthened, 
and  inspired  to  do  his  best  work  and  to  live  his 
noblest  life  in  the  presence  and  ministry  of  a 
church  which  often  carries  his  welfare  and  work 
to  a  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace. 

Again,  dear  friends,  it  requires  t\vo  objects 
to  produce  consciousness ;  or  two,  as  we  say, 
to  make  a  bargain.  In  any  church,  a  true,  or 
genuine,  or  solid  success  must  depend  mainly, 
not  on  the  pulpit,  but  on  the  attitude  of  the 
pews  toward  the  pulpit.  Chrysostom's  golden 
mouth  would  have  spoken  in  stammering  and 
discordant  accents,  **  like  sweet  bells  jangled, 
out  of  tune,"  beforp  a  church  broken  in  factions 
or  rent  by  dissensions,  or  cold  and  unresponsive 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE.  67 

to  the  Word.  I  know  that  you  are  all  of  one 
mind  to-night,  cordially  united,  warmly  confi- 
dent, and  hopeful  of  the  future.  For  your 
Pastor's  sake,  and  for  the  church's  sake,  con- 
tinue so,  and  great  and  glorious  will  be  the 
result. 

A  few  precepts  in  your  memories. 

I.  Hold  your  minister  up  to  a  high  standard 
of  pulpit   achievement.      Demand    of  him   his 
very  best.     Men  do  best  when  most  is  expected 
of  them.     We  rise  to  our  responsibilities.     It  is 
unfortunate   for  some  of  us  preachers  in  your 
pulpits  that  our  congregations  are  too  easily  sat- 
isfied.    Don't  commend  us  too  much  for  some 
extempore,  touching  little  talk ;   for  it  will  be  a 
strong  temptation  to  us  to  abridge  the  hours  of 
study   and   to    trust   to   the    inspiration    of  the 
moment.    And  that  will  prove  fatal ;   for  there  is 
no  blessing  from  God  Almighty  on  sloth ;  there 
is  no  sure  success  not  based  on  singleness  of 
purpose   and  sturdy  toil.     When   study  ceases, 
inspiration  fails.     It  is  fair,  then,  to  keep  your 
Pastor  up  to  a  high  standard  of  work ;   but  do 
not  be  too  exacting.     Remember  that  preachers 
are  fractions,  not  whole  numbers,  not  multitudi- 
nous men  like  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  the  piece 
that  every  man  had  lost.     We  have  our  special 


68  CHARGE   TO   THE    PEOPLE. 

faculties  and  gifts.  Some  churches  are  so  unrea- 
sonable. They  expect  all  the  cardinal  virtues, 
all  the  heavenly  gifts,  in  one  man.  They  forget 
that  God  gave  some  apostles,  and  some  prophets, 
and  some  evangelists,  that  He  gave  some  other 
churches  pastors,  and  some  teachers.  But  the 
modern  church  often  demands  that  one  minister 
shall  represent  all  these  different  gifts  in  his  own 
person,  and  sometimes  you  expect  us  to  excel  in 
all  departments.  You  insist  that  we  shall  "be 
clear-eyed  as  an  apostle,  full-hearted  as  a  pastor, 
swift-footed  as  an  evangelist,  ready-tongued  as 
a  teacher,  and  as  infallible  in  our  utterances  as 
a  prophet."  And  now  look  at  it:  ''All  these 
magnificent  qualifications,  all  these  combinations 
of  rare  and  diverse  gifts,  all  these  pieties,  graces, 
eloquence,  and  virtues,  the  modern  church 
thinks  ought  to  be  furnished  in  the  ecclesiastical 
market  for  the  average  salary  of  one  thousand 
dollars  a  year."  Why,  it  is  ridiculous  !  It  is 
cruel.  It  is  unjust.  God  gave  some  apostles; 
God  gave  some  others  evangelists ;  God  gave 
some  people  prophets :  you  cannot  have  all  of 
them  in  one  man.  Please  permit  me  to  say 
that  the  church  wants  too  much  for  too  little. 
"  The  church  is  the  shrewdest  buyer  that  tramps 
through  the  world's  exchanges;"  and  the  clergy 


CHARGE    TO    THE    PEOPLE.  69 

of  all  churches  are  the  poorest  paid  men  who 
do  good  work  for  this  world.  It  seems  to  be 
the  popular  opinion  —  and  some  very  good 
people  hold  it  —  that  if  God  Almighty  will 
only  keep  a  preacher  humble,  the  people  will 
see  to  it  that  he  is  kept  poor.  It  is  not  right. 
There  is  no  class  of  men  who  make  so  good 
use  of  money,  who  have  so  little  of  it.  A  good 
man  does  not  preach  the  gospel  for  money, 
truly;  and  a  man  who  enters  into  the  ministry 
to  amass  money  must  start  out  with  an  imbecile 
mind.  Still,  we  are  worth  all  that  we  can  do 
and  can  accomplish.  A  church  that  can  pay, 
ought  to  pay.  As  revenues  increase,  the  salary 
should  be  increased.  As  the  pastor  of  a  people, 
your  minister  deserves  increasing  compensation, 
for  the  extra  toil  that  new-comers  in  the  church 
imposes  upon  him.  It  is  pitiful,  it  is  a  reproach 
to  the  church,  that  so  many  sensitive  and  highly 
educated  and  noble  men,  whose  health  has 
failed,  or  on  whom  the  infirmities  of  years  have 
fallen,  when  they  have  been  thrust  aside,  from 
active  labor,  have  often  to  earn  a  precarious 
livelihood  as  book-agents,  or  be  remanded  for 
a  beggarly  pittance  to  the  Board  for  Condemned 
Preachers.  If  I  grow  warm  on  this  subject, 
please   charge    it   not  to  any  personal   feeling, 


70  CHARGE    TO   THE   PEOPLE. 

but  to  my  professional  pride,  and  to  my  desire 
to  see  the  clergy  of  this  country  compensated 
as  they  ought  to  be  for  their  best  efforts  for 
the  perpetuation  of  good  government,  as  well  as 
for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  .of  men.  In  this 
troubled  day  of  unrest  and  strikes,  when  all  la- 
bor as  well  as  capital  is  organizing  and  combin- 
ing and  centralizing,  it  appears  to  me  that  some 
of  us  ministers  should  do  something  to  advance 
the  salaries  of  other  men,  eveji  by  striking. 
Pardon  me  for  calling  attention  to  this  matter 
in  a  church  so  distinguished  for  liberality  as  well 
as  for  wealth.  But  it  is  set  down  in  the  Book 
as  one  of  the  things  to  be  mentioned  in  a  charge 
to  the  people.  You  are  to  give  him  a  compe- 
tent, worldly  maintenance.  Start  with  that. 
And  as  the  pews  fill,  and  the  revenues  increase, 
do  not  forget  to  advance  it.  Increase  it  as  pros- 
perity flows  in  upon  you.  You  will  share  your 
prosperity  with  your  Pastor,  I  am  sure,  as  well 
as  your  troubles  and  misfortunes.  You  will  be 
generous  as  well  as  just,  in  all  your  relations 
with  him. 

2.  A  preacher's  power  is  in  ratio  to  his  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature.  Not  to  know  men  is 
not  to  know  how  to  save  them.  The  more  man 
a  minister  has  in  him,  the  more  attention   he 


CHARGE   TO    THE    PEOPLE.  71 

will  command.  The  broader  his  sympathies  are, 
the  broader  will  be  his  influence  in  any  commu- 
nity. Granted.  But  God  gave  some  churches 
preachers,  some  pastors,  some  apostles ;  and 
you  should  not  expect  the  highest  and  best 
from  the  preacher,  and  perfection  in  the  pas- 
tor. In  this  struggling  and  competing  city, 
where  there  is  rivalry  even  in  churches,  you 
cannot  have  the  best  of  both  in  one  person. 
Strong,  solid,  well-proportioned  sermons  are 
to  be  got  only  by  hard  study  and  long  hours 
of  toil.  Time  is  limited.  There  are  only  twelve 
hours  of  work  in  a  day.  In  this  city  the  pulpit 
must  come  first,  preaching  up  to  one's  best 
is  necessary.  The  pastoral  work  is  largely  op- 
tional, and  ought  to  be.  The  old-time  proverb 
about  a  house-going  preacher  making  a  church- 
going  people  ought  to  be  more  honored  in  the 
breach  than  in  the  observance;  and  it  must 
be.  People  are  too  intelligent,  too  well  read, 
too  exacting,  to  accept  long  pastoral  visits  as 
compensation  for  thin  and  poor  sermons.  The 
talking  man  comes  first;  the  shepherding  man 
second :  and  do  not  look  for  perfection  in  both 
ofifices  in  one  man. 

And  now,  dear  brethren  in  God,  I  commend 
unto  you,  to  your  prayers,  to  your  sympathy,  to 


72  CHARGE   TO   THE    PEOPLE. 

your  loyalty,  and  to  your  love,  my  dear  friend 
and  former  parishioner,  your  new,  young,  and 
already  beloved  Pastor.  May  this  day  be  the 
auspicious  beginning  of  a  new  era  of  usefulness, 
of  prosperity,  and  of  growth  for  this  venerable 
and  historic  church !  We  pray  for  him  and 
for  you,  that  here  in  this  pulpit  he  may  make 
visible  to  you  the  glory  of  God  as  it  shines  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ ;  we  pray  for  him  and 
for  you,  that  here  may  be  felt  and  witnessed 
the  power  of  God,  which  working  through  Jesus 
Christ  turns  bad  men  into  good  men,  makes 
good  men  better,  transforms  law  into  gospel, 
glorifies  virtue  into  holiness  and  duty  into  love ; 
we  pray  for  him  and  for  you,  that  here,  for 
years  to  come,  this  strong  and  thoroughly 
equipped  preacher  may  bring  to  bear  upon  your 
intellectual,  your  emotional,  your  social,  your 
spiritual  life,  the  person,  the  principles,  and  the 
practices  of  that  Son  of  Mary  whom  we  still 
worship  as  the  Son  of  God. 

May  the  Paraclete,  the  Near-Bringer  of  the 
Christ,  strengthen  him  to  preach,  and  open  your 
ears  to  hear,  of  Jesus  Christ,  —  not  as  a  dogma, 
but  as  a  real  person,  a  living  Helper,  a  certain 
Saviour,  a  risen  Lord,  a  future  Judge,  and  the 
exceeding  great  reward  in  that  Paradise  of  God 


CHARGE   TO   THE   PEOPLE.  73 

where  our  joy  shall  be  like  a  sea  whose  shores 
no  man  can  find. 

Blessed  work  to  help  bewildered  men  and 
women  find  their  way  back  home  to  God, 
through  this  dark  and  difficult  world.  And 
blessed,  thrice-blessed  music,  sweeter  than  all 
the  songs  of  love,  is  that  dear  old  gospel,  of 
the  Son  of  God,  which  is  still  and  forever  the 
power  and  the  wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation ; 
which  still  lifts  whatever  it  touches,  still  hallows 
whatever  it  finds,  and  is  still  able,  out  of  a 
ruined  and  decrepit  rebel,  to  make  a  robed  and 
crowned  saint. 

Oh,  old  historic  walls,  long  may  you  stand 
with  wide  open  doors  to  echo  the  sweetness  of 
Christ's  saving  name,  and  to  reverberate  with 
the  accents  and  songs  of  the  redeeming  love  ! 

Fall  on  us.  Holy  Ghost,  to-night,  —  a  Pente- 
cost to  warm  our  hearts  with  the  immortal  fire, 
before  the  battle  is  joined,  the  campaign  begun, 
the  duties  grappled  with,  by  my  brother,  your 
Pastor,  and  by  you,  his  people,  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  salvation  of  human  souls. 


PRAYER. 

By  the  Rev.  GEORGE  ALEXANDER,  D.D. 

A  LMIGHTY  GOD,  our  Heavenly  Father, 
■^  ^  whose  we  are,  and  whom  we  serve,  we 
humbly  ask  Thy  blessing  upon  the  relation  now 
consummated.  Bless  the  pastor,  and  bless  the 
flock.  Let  Thy  Holy  Spirit  descend  upon  Thy 
servant,  filling  him  with  grace  and  with  power 
from  on  high.  Let  the  Word  of  God  dwell 
richly  in  his  heart,  that  he  may  minister  unto 
the  flock  over  which  Thou  hast  made  him  over- 
seer. Inspire  him  with  love  for  his  Master,  and 
with  love  for  the  people  to  whom  that  Master 
sends  him.  Make  him  strong  to  bear  the  bur- 
dens which  will  rest  upon  him.  Be  with  him  in 
the  proclamation  of  Thy  Gospel,  that  he  may 
proclaim  it  without  fear  and  without  favor.  Be 
with  him  as  he  kneels  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick 
and  suffering.  Be  with  him  when  he  stands  be- 
tween the  mourners  and  their  dead. 

Grant  unto  him,  we  pray  Thee,  largeness  of 
mind,  and  largeness  of  heart.     Fill  him  with  a 


PRAYER.  75 

sense  of  his  responsibility  to  Thee,  and  with 
deepest  sympathy  for  the  needs  and  sufferings, 
and  aspirations  of  sinful,  dying  men.  Let  Thy 
blessing,  we  beseech  Thee,  rest  upon  this  an- 
cient church.  May  Thy  presence  ever  be  mani- 
fested here.  Let  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
descend  upon  all  its  officers  and  members.  May 
no  root  of  bitterness  spring  up  to  trouble  or  de- 
file. Unite  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  love  to 
the  Master  and  in  love  to  him  whom  Thou  hast 
set  over  them  in  the  Lord.  Make  this  the  birth- 
place of  many  souls.  May  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  here  magnified.  Let  Thy 
kingdom  come  and  Thy  will  be  done  here,  even 
as  in  Heaven.  We  ask  all  in  the  name  and  for 
the  sake  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Redeemer. 
Amen. 

Hymn  No.  835. 


BENEDICTION. 

By  the   pastor. 

\  ND  now,  may  the  God  of  peace  that  brought 
-^"^  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the 
blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  make  us  per- 
fect in  every  good  work  to  do  His  will,  working 
in  us  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  His  sight, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  to  whom,  with 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  one  God,  be 
present  and  never-ending  praise.     Amen. 


The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us,  as  He  was 
with  our  fathers :  let  Him  not  leave  us,  nor 
forsake  us :  that  He  may  incline  our  hearts  unto 
Him,  to  walk  in  all  His  ways,  and  to  keep  His 
commandments. —  i  KiNGS  viii.  57,  58. 

O  Lord,  we  beseech  Thee,  send  now  pros- 
perity.—  Psalms  cxviii.  25. 


First  Presbyterian  Church,  Fifth  Avenue. 
(Erected  1846.) 


LIST   OF   OFFICE-BEARERS. 

1886. 


Office-Bearers 

OF    THE 

FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 

NEW    YORK    CITY, 
April  i,  1886. 

SESS/OJV. 
RICHARD   D.  HARLAN,  Minister. 

RULING     ELDERS. 

SAMUEL   FROST.  EUGENE    McJIMSEY. 

RICHARD    H.   BULL.  SAMUEL  C.   BRUSH. 

HEZEKIAH    KING,  Clerk. 

GEO.   B.   MERSEREAU,   Deacon. 

TRUSTEES. 

J.  D.  T.  HERSEY.  WILLIAM    MOIR. 

J.   D.   HARDENBURGH.  EDWARD    J.  DENNING. 

GEO.  W.  McLANAHAN.  ROBERT    FERGUSON. 

JOHN    E.  JOHNSON.  ALGERNON   S.  SULLIVAN. 

Dr.   THOS.   E.  SATTERTHWAITE. 
6 


I 


Date  Due 

'; 

i 

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